25 Days with Mr Arrogant
by dancing-by-moonlight
Summary: AU When Inuyasha dumps her, Kagome out of uncharacteristic fury kicks a can that by a cruel twist of fate dents Sesshomaru's car. As a poor college student with no money, she is forced to spend 25 days with him as his servant to pay off her debts. SK MS
1. Prologue: How it all began

**Disclaimer:** My claim to Inuyasha is as strong as my claim to being Prince William's fiancé…oh wait…they're nonexistent.

**Summary:** When her boyfriend and best friend, Inuyasha, dumps her for her cousin, college student Kagome ends up kicking a can in her fury. The little can accidentally damages the car of the rich businessman Sesshomaru. In order to pay him back she must spend 25 days basically as his slave! Sesshomaru could get his car fixed without even scratching his wallet, so is there something up his sleeve?

**A/N**: I've had a few tell me that the plot sounds similar to some Korean movie (I think it's a movie). I've never seen this movie, but I have friends who have, and they said that the plot, except for a car getting damaged by a can, is nothing like the movie….so there! Also, no demons, so Inuyasha looks like he does in his human form, and I haven't decided if he should be Sesshomaru's brother or not…and all currency will just be in American dollars to keep things simple.

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

"Bye!" Kagome yelled as she waved vigorously at Miroku and Sango. With a big grin on her face she turned around, and began walking away. 

Kagome was an average Japanese student. She was a senior attending Tokyo University; she had a weekend job, struggled in most of her classes, but was having a blast at it. She was also a typical Japanese girl with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. She wasn't exactly different or unique; she was just Kagome.

She was currently dating her best friend, Inuyasha Yamamoto. They had been best friends since grade school, and they had finally gotten around to dating senior year of high school. Luckily they both got into the same college, and were still going strong…except for that one year…sophomore year of college. It was after he had met her cousin, Kikyo.

People always said that they looked alike, but Kagome didn't see it. She thought that Kikyo had much more defined cheek bones, and lighter colored eyes. She on the other hand had a rather round face, and much darker eyes. Kikyo had perfect hair too. The stereotypical raven colored straight hair that was smooth as silk. Kagome subconsciously touched her hair. Her hair was black too, just a little…spunkier, and it didn't have nearly the sheen Kikyo's had.

Anyways, Kikyo and Inuyasha apparently had 'chemistry,' and both acted on it. It had hurt Kagome a lot, more than words could tell, and she had even broken up with him. Then Kikyo went back up north, and Inuyasha came crawling back.

She hadn't wanted to get back together with him, but she realized that Inuyasha was the only one who made her feel complete and whole. Against the advice of her friends, she began dating Inuyasha…again. Everything was going smoothly even though her friends were still skeptical.

Life was great. She actually understood what was going on in Calculus, and she still had the same ring of friends since junior high. Miroku Ishibashi and Sango Uchida attended Tokyo University as well, and the four of them were a tight knit group.

Miroku was…well, a pervert, who was madly in love with Sango, who returned the feelings, but refused to let herself fall for him because of his perverted and lecherous ways. It was complicated, and it was often like she had front row seats to some soap opera…that's how much drama there was between those two.

Especially since that Kuranosuke guy came into the picture. He was actually a great guy and _really_ cute, but Kagome was rooting for Miroku. She had been watching _this_ soap opera for **years**, and there was NO way that some guy claiming to have known Sango since they were kids coming in and take her away. That was _not_ how her soap opera was supposed to go!

But she had to admit that Kuranosuke treated Sango well; he had treated her better in one day than Miroku had in all the years he had known Sango. It irked Kagome a bit, but she knew that as cocky Miroku acted, that he was always nervous around Sango. That was why he was so flirtatious; hoping that it would make Sango jealous…and that she would make the first move, but poor Miroku so far hadn't had much luck with that strategy.

Kagome shoved her hands into the warm pockets of her puffy white jacket. She wore a bright red knit wool beanie and was dressed for winter. But it was spring, and not nearly as cold as Kagome was dressed for. Kagome was never a 'snazzy' dresser, that and she always had bad luck when it came to dressing according to the weather.

Today was one of those days, for even though it was just slightly chilly now, the weather was sure to get hotter. Kagome entered a small café just outside of the campus, and looked around.

Kagome's eyebrows crinkled as she frowned. He wasn't sitting at their usual table. She approached the table with a grin. "Hey," she said softly as she slid into the seat across from him. He didn't even look up.

"Hey," he said in reply.

Kagome quirked an eyebrow. She moved her head in an attempt to see his face, but didn't succeed. For some reason, his long black bangs were covering the upper half of his face. It made Kagome uncomfortable, but she ignored the dark and chilling feeling she was having, and tried to talk to him again. "I got a B on my test today," Kagome told him.

Inuyasha merely nodded. "Hey, is there something wrong?" Kagome asked him, complete and utter sincerity in her voice.

Inuyasha's head snapped up. "Why are you always so fuckin' cheerful?" he asked.

Kagome almost cringed. Inuyasha seemed dark, the tone of his voice, not being able to see most of his face…why was he snapping at her like that? "What are you talking about?" Kagome demanded angrily.

"You know what I'm talking about Kagome. You're always Miss Goody Two Shoes, always trying to make everyone feel better, always trying to save the world. Give it a rest! You can't!" Inuyasha said, his voice rising.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha in disbelief. "There really IS something wrong with you. I **refuse** to put up with this." Kagome announced as she stood up.

"That's it Kagome," Inuyasha growled as he brought his fist down to the table. "We're through."

Kagome, who had just stood up, froze. "What…?" she asked quietly, her heart beating loudly, hoping that he had not just said what she thought he had said.

"I…said…we're….through," Inuyasha bit out.

Kagome found it hard to breathe. "For what?" she gasped.

"It's none of your business Kagome, so get out of here," Inuyasha commanded.

"Yes it is!" Kagome interjected. "I am part of this relationship, and I want to know why you're ending it."

"I said it's none of your fucking business! We're through Kagome, that's all there is to it."

"What's going on Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, not caring about the stares they were receiving. "What's wrong with you!" Before Inuyasha could do anything, Kagome reached over, and brushed aside his long black bangs. A look of surprise crossed Kagome's face. Tears were welled up in his beautiful brown eyes. "Inuyasha…"

Inuyasha pushed her hands away, letting the long bangs cover his face again. "Don't touch me Kagome. Don't make this any harder!" His voice changed from angry to pleading.

"Why won't you tell me- "

"I have my reasons! Now go! How many times do I have to tell you? Kikyo would've gotten it the first time…" Kagome's eyes widened. "Oh shit...Kagome!" But she was out the door.

Inuyasha ran out the door after her, but merely stood outside of the café, watching her bright red beanie disappear into the crowds. Things hadn't gone like he had planned. He had wanted Kagome to be mad at him, and have her initiate the break up, making it easier.

He should have just told her; he knew he should have, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Kagome would've understood; she was his best friend. But what exactly would he have told her? _'The truth,'_ the little voice inside his head told him. Inuyasha sighed, shoved his hands into his pockets, and went back inside the café.

He knew that there was a better way he could've done this. But he wasn't exactly the smartest guy when it came to girls…or relationships for that matter, it was a wonder to him how Kagome stood to withstand his stupid blunders all these years. He still loved her, he really did. But he was a free soul…he wanted to live life before it was over!

He didn't want to marry…not that Kagome had ever said that, but it always seemed as if that was what fate had for him if he stayed with Kagome. Inuyasha tried to ignore the painful and gnawing feeling in his heart…and the voice that told him that he had just done something incredibly dumb. But he was never really good when it came to figuring out Kagome…Inuyasha sighed as he slumped in his seat, Kagome…

* * *

Kagome ran. 

But her ears strained to hear a certain voice call after her. Telling her that he didn't mean it…that it was an early April Fools' Joke…but she heard nothing…nothing but the sound of her shoes hitting the concrete beneath her.

She couldn't even cry.

At least not yet.

'How could he?' Kagome thought bitterly as she continued running. She didn't want to stop because running only distanced her from that jerk, that mean jerk. That mean and _emotionless_ jerk. The wind whipped her hair about…she must have lost her beanie somewhere. Not that she really cared.

All she cared was creating the most distance possible between them. Sure, Kagome had broken up with him last time, but she had had a reason. 'Inuyasha doesn't even _have_ a reason!' Kagome thought viciously.

But of course, idiots like him wouldn't know. They did whatever pleased their whim. 'What if it **is** me?' Kagome thought as she slowed down due to a side cramp. She never was the athletic sort. "But it's not!" she said aloud angrily. "It's him! It's all him…and Kikyo!" A fire of anger rekindled itself inside. "That sleazy and conniving…_cousin_ of mine!" she spat.

Kagome kicked the thing nearest to her, which happened to be a can. The can jumped forward, and noisily rolled on the ground before coming to a stop. Kagome angrily stomped forward, and kicked the can again. She paused, and looked around.

She was in the 'upper scale' part of Tokyo.

She didn't come here often, and there was a good reason why…she wasn't exactly 'upper class.' She continued kicking the poor soda can past a fancy French bistro named 'Pierre's Place.'

"After all we've been through!" Kagome ranted on, exasperated. "I've been betrayed…" she muttered sullenly. "I **hate** him!" Kagome kicked the can again with a whole new power, fueled, once again, by anger. Kagome wasn't athletic for a good reason as well. She had horrible aim…Kagome froze when she heard a light 'dink' noise, and a clatter.

She slowly turned her head, and saw the soda can on the sidewalk beside an extremely nice silver Cadillac Escalade. Forgetting about her now 'ex' boyfriend, and fearing the worst, Kagome made a mad dash to the car. She inspected the car, nothing…good…good…Kagome's heart sank. There, right smack dab in the middle of the passenger side door was a dent.

"That was not me…" Kagome said out loud. "Definitely not me…" she repeated in an attempt to convince herself that the dent had not been caused by her. "So I'll just leave…" Kagome turned around, ready to head back to the part of Tokyo where she belonged when she found herself staring at the chest of a stranger.

"Oops!" Kagome said, her voice a pitch higher than normal. "Sorry about that," she apologized rather nervously. Kagome moved to the right of the person to get out of their way, but found herself staring at the chest of the same person. She caught a whiff of the person's cologne, and deduced that the person was a man.

"Oops…heh…heh…" Kagome laughed nervously. She moved to the left this time, and the same exact thing happened. "Wow…this is…strange…" she said timidly. "We seem to be trying to go the same way…and stuff…" Kagome looked up, and at first thought that the man was an old man.

But by the look of his face, and hardness of his chest, she guessed that he was just some weird guy with silver hair. But it was hard to see with that stupid sun shining in her eyes, so he _could _have platinum blonde hair or something. Also, you had to consider the fact that she had to crane her neck all the way back. The guy was a good foot, and maybe a foot and a half taller than her. "Maybe I should go left, and you should go right," Kagome suggested innocently.

Kagome made a move to go left again, but bumped into the man…again. "Ok, I know that strange things happen to me, but this is just crazy!" Kagome remarked.

"Yes…strange things do happen…don't they?" the man replied. The man had a smooth and deep yet…_icy_ voice.

"Most definitely!" Kagome piped.

"Yes, like dents magically appearing on my car," the man said casually.

"Yes! Like dents magically…appearing…on….your…car…" Kagome gulped.

"You seem to have been in the area. Can you describe the person who did this?" the man asked again. Kagome took a hesitant step backwards. Unfortunately, the man closed the gap between them with a step towards her.

"I…I don't know. I'm…um…afraid I can't tell you. Wasn't paying attention! Yeah, you know me…young people like me…heh…" Kagome felt her face turn a shade of red.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I **do**," the man told her. "Wasting your short lives away by partying and drinking rather than trying to create a future for yourselves. It's utterly _repulsive_."

Kagome's face took on a deeper and darker red, her face looking akin to a beet. "I…don't drink and party," she quietly informed him.

"That makes one." the man said, unimpressed.

Kagome stood there, her neck craned back as she looked up at the guy. Were those amber colored eyes of his real or contact lenses? Kagome began to squirm like a five year old, rather uncomfortably, under his penetrating gaze…more like glare. "Well….I better be going…" Kagome said slowly.

"I think not."

"Heh…" Kagome's eyes darted about nervously. She then stomped on the man's foot, and made a mad dash opposite of the way she was going. She figured that she could go that way a ways and then cross the street, and go the way she was trying to go. But she didn't even get far enough to 'dash.'

The man whose arm had immediately shot out to grab Kagome's arm had obviously not felt Kagome stomp on his foot. "If you think that you can leave before I say you can, you are sorely mistaken," he informed her, making Kagome gulp again. "How are you going to pay?" the man asked as he began to circle her. Kagome shot him a look that reminded him of deer caught in the headlights.

"Pay? For what?" she squeaked.

Kagome could've sworn the man's eyes turned red.

Kagome let out an 'eep' when the man grabbed her by the chin, and turned her face towards his car. "Do you see that car?" he asked, almost snarling.

"Which one? The red corvette, the blue and white Viper, the yellow Hummer or the silver Mustang?" Kagome asked. As soon as she was finished with her sentence she regretted it. Even though it had been completely innocent...well maybe not completely, but she could just play dumb…right?

"You forgot the Mercedes," the man told her.

Kagome looked around for a Mercedes, but didn't see one. "I don't see it…" Kagome replied, perplexed.

"That is because there isn't one," the man growled.

Kagome wanted to smack herself. Could she get any dumber? She didn't even want to think about the answer. "Oh…right…heh heh…bad eyes," Kagome offered as an explanation.

"Obviously so, since you missed the silver Cadillac Escalade right in front of you," the man said in a clipped tone.

"Wow! I can't believe I missed it, I mean, it's right here…in front…of…me…" Kagome wanted to bang her head against the car a million times. Why was meaningless crap spewing from her lips? 'Because of Inuyasha,' she thought venomously. The man watched in slight amusement as the look on Kagome's face went from scared and nervous to angry.

The man did have to say that with that sort of look on her face, she didn't exactly seem like the young and helpless girl that she had seemed at first. With that look on her face she even seemed a bit intimidating.

But he didn't have all day. "So how are you going to pay?" the man repeated, interrupting Kagome's thoughts.

The dark scowl on Kagome's face disappeared, and was replaced with one of fright. "But I can't! I'm only a student, and the little I make working at the market on weekends I use to buy food!" Kagome wailed.

"Well then what am I supposed to do about it?" the man asked. "Stand back, and expect it to fix itself?" The man bent his head down until his face was a mere few centimeters from Kagome's. "I am a business man wench, and I am a professional one at that. I _cannot_ drive around in a car with a dent in it!"

A look of indignation crossed Kagome's face. "I am not a wench!" she yelled. "And you drive a **Cadillac Escalade**! I still walk and ride a bike! You can easily afford to fix that car of yours! You can't even see the dent. It's hardly noticeable. I had to get this," Kagome paused to show how close she was to the car with her fingers, "close to the door to see it."

The man raised an eyebrow. "So you admit that you were the one who did it."

Kagome began sputtering. "No! That's not what I meant! I meant to say that…"

A glint of amusement lit the man's amber eyes. "Your efforts are futile wench. So how do you expect to pay?"

Kagome stood there, and looked around. "That's weird, I don't see anyone else. Who are you talking to?" she asked sarcastically.

A low growl rumbled in the man's chest. "You dare make me cross?"

"_I_ do, but I don't know if that 'wench' you keep talking to does." Kagome continued haughtily.

The man growled again, and made Kagome's anger subside slightly. She backed up, and felt her back against the car. "You _will_ pay for the damage you have inflicted on my car."

"I will!" Kagome exclaimed as she stepped away from the car. "Sheesh. All you have to say is 'please.'" Kagome said grudgingly, her anger dissipated.

The man looked at her.

"What? It's just one, _one_ syllable….at least I think it is…it could be two. I don't know, I was never good in Language Arts. Let's see, ple-ease…" Kagome clapped twice, "Nah, that can't be right, please," Kagome clapped once, "Ok! Never mind, it is one syllable, but yeah, it's only one syllable! It's not that hard to say!"

The man looked murderous.

"I can sing you a song about manners…" Kagome sing-songed.

"Please tell me how, a broke college student like you, will manage to pay for the dent in my car," the man said, the 'semi-pleasant' tone of his voice obviously strained.

"That's better," Kagome said with a smile, but the smile faltered. "How…how much will the repair cost?" she asked, her voice a squeak now.

"About $550." the man with an air of indifference.

Kagome almost keeled over. "$550! For _that_ **tiny** dent!"

"Yes, you're lucky that this car does not have a special silver pearl coat or else the cost would be much higher," the man told her with traces of sarcasm.

Kagome didn't reply. She merely stared at the dent, her eyes bugging out of her sockets, and her jaw slack.

The man looked at her with distaste. "I advise you close your mouth. It is most unattractive."

Kagome blinked.

There was **no** way that tiny and almost invisible dent cost $550. That just wasn't possible. No…no….and no. Maybe she could 'undent' it. Maybe she could kick the other side of the door, and the dent would like 'pop' out. Yeah…

"Are…are you _sure_ that dent costs $550?" Kagome asked.

"I am **always** sure." the man replied coldly.

"Well I mean, maybe it costs less than $550 because the dent is much more minor than you think, or maybe there's a special on-"

"You will pay me $550." The man interrupted.

"I have a better idea," Kagome announced. "How about _I_ fix the dent for you?"

"You hardly look the part of a mechanic." The man replied, obviously skeptical.

"Me!" Kagome asked, obviously alarmed. "As if! I could never be a mechanic! I mean, I can handle getting dirty, but smelling like grease and oil? Eh…don't think so, besides, me and machines never did get a long."

The man almost groaned. "Then how do you plan on 'fixing' the dent by yourself?"

* * *

"See? All you have to do is place this part on the dent, and screw this thing tight, and the dent will pop out!" 

"You actually spent $20 on a cheap piece of equipment like this?"

"Hey! Not all good equipment that works well has to be expensive." Kagome replied indignantly.

The man scoffed.

Kagome bit her lip, and began to turn the small handle until she heard a satisfying pop noise. "See? No dent." Kagome declared proudly. "I didn't even break into a sweat!"

"Yes, you managed to fix that dent, but what of the other two dents that you created during the process?"

Kagome glared at him. "What are you talking about!"

The man gestured towards the passenger door that Kagome had been toiling away over just a few seconds ago. Kagome turned around, and paled. Sure enough, the first dent was gone, but there were two dents from the 'cheap equipment' she had used.

"That was not me!"

"If it was not you, then who was it?" the man asked, his voice of indifference obviously strained.

"This piece of faulty equipment!"

"Now you owe me $1100." The man pointed out coolly.

"What do mean _me_!" Kagome asked bewildered. "This," she said pointing to the tool in her hand, "Is faulty equipment. I advise that you contact the manufacturer, and complain immediately."

A dark look passed the man's face as he stepped towards her. "I can contact the best lawyers in Japan, and see you in court tomorrow," Kagome gulped. "Or…" She breathed a sigh of relief. "You can pay me my $1100."

"I'll be glad to pay you $1100," Kagome began, "But money doesn't grow on trees. I can't give you $1100 right now!"

"Of course not right now, I am not that unreasonable," Kagome almost snorted. "I will give you a month."

"$1100 in one month!" Kagome exclaimed.

The man began circling Kagome. "Oh my, how could I forget? You are a college student. You are broke as it is, and you are drowning in a sea of homework, tests and finals. You cannot possibly hope to make $1100 in such a short amount of time. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know!" Kagome wailed.

"I have a proposal."

"You'll just drive away, and fix the two dents with your own money, and forget all about me?" Kagome asked with hope.

"…..No." Kagome looked crestfallen. "But I could drive away, fix the two dents with my own money, and you can work for me for a month."

"_Work_ for you?" Kagome questioned.

"Yes," the man stopped circling her. "I am a very busy man wench, and I fired my incompetent secretary a few days ago, and am short of a hand. Of course, I have trained substitutes, but I can never have too much help."

"Then get more trained substitutes! Just pleeeeeeeeease leave me alone!" Kagome begged, on the verge of crying. Just the mere thought of having to cater to this unpleasant man, and juggle classes all at the same time was horrifying.

"I will leave you alone once I get my $1100."

Kagome hesitated before replying. Where could she get $1100? She couldn't ask her mom…maybe she could ask Miroku and Sango! No wait…she couldn't. She remembered that Miroku was saving money to get Sango a special birthday present…she couldn't take money from him…but that still left Sango.

Kagome sighed inwardly. No, she couldn't ask Sango either. Sango was saving money to go to America, and visit her family for the summer. There was one person left…Inuyasha; that cheating and ungrateful jerk. No, she refused to ask him for money. She would not; her pride wouldn't let her. But then again, it was _his_ fault that she was in this situation!

If he had broken up with her nicely, and actually told her why, then she wouldn't even be here! Yes, Inuyasha owed her $1100…no, she didn't want to see him. She never ever wanted to see his face or hear about him or his voice **ever** again. Screw Inuyasha, she didn't need him anymore; she would do this herself.

* * *

"A month?" Kagome asked a pained look on her face. 

The man nodded.

"I'm really annoying." Kagome warned him as she took a large bite of her ice cream.

"I have dealt with worse."

"I'm really clumsy."

"I can see that."

"I'm really stupid."

"Believe me, it is apparent."

"I don't even know what I'm going to be doing."

"I have people to teach you."

"I'm a slow learner."

"You have a month."

"I'll mess everything up, and embarrass you."

"I will manage."

"I talk a lot."

"I can tell."

"I will drive you insane!" Kagome threatened.

"I already am."

Kagome paused, and almost cursed. He was _good_. "Hmph. You're right! Only an insane psychopath like you could come up with such a stupid method of receiving reparations for some stupid and hardly visible dents." Kagome sucked in a lungful of air, and let it all out. "That was a mouthful."

The man was tempted to roll his eyes, but rolling eyes was rather undignified, and he was a very, _very_ dignified man.

"There are 31 days in March, and you will have about 30 days to repay the $1100."

"Technically, there are only 25 days left of this month…" Kagome interjected.

"I am well aware of that fact wench-"

"Ok, hold it there buster! You can't call me wench forever ya' know, it's not nice! Maybe you should ask me what my name is."

"And you will not call me 'buster' or anything of the sort. From now on you will refer to me **only **as Sesshomaru-sama or Lord Sesshomaru."

Kagome almost spit out her mouthful of ice cream. **"**Sesshomaru-_sama_ is alright, but _Lord_ Sesshomaru? What is this? The feudal era?" Kagome then lapsed into giggles. Sesshomaru timed her. Kagome laughed for a grand total of two minutes, and she had only stopped because her ice cream had been melting. "But yeah, I'll call you Sesshomaru-sama or whatever, but you have to call me by _my_ name too." Kagome rationalized. "It's only fair." she added.

Sesshomaru looked at Kagome who was happily licking her ice cream. Was she _truly_ a senior in college? She acted more like a five year old, an extremely annoying one. "Very well then. What is your name?" Sesshomaru asked in monotone, trying extremely hard not to reach over and wring the girl's neck.

"You could at least pretend to be interested. But my name is Kagome. Ka-go-me."

"How many hours a day can you work 'Ka-go-me?'" he continued.

Kagome shrugged. "Let's see, I spend about 7 hours a day in school, and I sleep about 9…"

"You have 8 hours left over," Sesshomaru informed her.

"I could have figured that out by myself," Kagome grumbled.

"If you work for me for 7 hours a day, every day for the rest of this month, your debt will be paid."

"I only have to work for you for 25 days!" Kagome asked excitedly.

"Yes, and since tomorrow is Sunday, I expect you to show up by noon at _this_ place." Sesshomaru pushed a white and pristine business card with gilded and silver lettering on it across the table to her. He then stood up. "And do not be late, I happen to _strongly_ dislike people who are late." He turned around, and left the small ice cream shoppe.

"Wait!" Kagome yelled as she ran after him.

Sesshomaru who was already in his Escalade, and ready to drive off, rolled down the window part way, but ended up having to roll it down all the way in order to see Kagome.

"Where is this place anyways?" she asked holding the business card out with one hand, her other hand with the ice cream cone in it, resting lightly on the window.

"Take a taxi." He told her, obviously irritated, and wanting to leave.

"Taxis are expensive!" Kagome complained.

Sesshomaru angrily yanked out a black leather wallet with a silver buckle in the front that had 'Armani' engraved into it. "_This_ should be enough." The man tossed her a $50 dollar bill. "And remember," he warned icily before rolling the window up, "If you do not show, I will come to your campus or your dormitory, and retrieve you if I must."

Kagome's eyes widened. "You-" But before she could finish her sentence, the man had driven off. "Hmph. Arrogant and mean ole' prick," she grumbled. "25 days! 25 days! I'm going to be his slave for **25 days**!" Kagome sighed, as she began walking towards the part of Tokyo where she belonged. "At least he bought me gourmet icecream…" Kagome said with a grin.

She went to lick her chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, but found only the waffle cone…and no ice cream. Kagome looked at the waffle cone quizzically, and then bit her lip. She did _not_ drop that good and delicious ice cream into that rich guy's car.

Kagome wanted to cry. He would probably throw it out! "What a waste," Kagome muttered. Munching on her waffle cone, and trying to console herself, Kagome walked down the sidewalk.

Sesshomaru's eyebrows furrowed. What was that rather sickeningly sweet smell? He sniffed slightly, and turned his head over to the passenger seat. On the beautiful and custom designed black Italian leather of his passenger seat was a melting glob of what he guessed was chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. An evil look lit his amber eyes. 'Day 1, cleaning Master Sesshomaru's car.'

* * *

((**A/N:** I love comedy! So there's how it all will start…muahaha. Anyways, so I hope you all liked it, and hopefully it was obvious that this fic will be about 27 or so chapters long, yes, one chapter for each day…a prologue and an epilogue. I hope no one hates Inuyasha too much…or hate me for making Inuyasha mean. What he did it actually is a 'norm.' He's confused and afraid of commitment and etc…typical! And I am not an Inuyasha hater! So I didn't do it on purpose alrighty? 

By the way, I actually **did** do the math so Kagome will earn exactly $1100 in 25 days…and according to everyone I asked, $550 is the usual cost for fixing a dent, and has anyone else seen those advertisements for those 'dent fixers?' Those are scams I tell you! It may fix the initial dent, but will create two more from the pressure…so yeah. I think I will have fun with this fic…and I'm sorry for those of you who voted for other fics…better luck next time eh?

Anyways, so is everyone OK with long chapters?))

**Merry Christmas to all! (Unless you don't celebrate Christmas) REVIEW! (Please and thank you! )**


	2. Day 1: Kagome's 'Karwash'

**Disclaimer:** My claim to Inuyasha is as strong as my claim to being Prince William's fiancé…oh wait…they're nonexistent.

**Summary:** When her boyfriend and best friend, Inuyasha, dumps her for her cousin, college student Kagome ends up kicking a can in her fury. The little can accidentally damages the car of the rich businessman Sesshomaru. In order to pay him back she must spend 25 days basically as his slave! Sesshomaru could get his car fixed without even scratching his wallet, so is there something up his sleeve?

* * *

Thanks for reviewing: **The Evil Liar, Aqua Miko, Shini'chi Raine, Kagamoesiun, magiclover53, LadyAkina, j.b Raven, Darkness Carrier, Red satin and Black silk, Purotekuta-Shikon no Tama, Defafaeth-Mechqua, ForestSprite, Kurai Ookami, Emerald-Eyed-Faye, lilshiasha, Rhea9, MeMe, silvertigerlil, some1, atashi-wa-Yume, BlueMonkey89, CrystallineLily, Lilian, MindlessInuyashaWander, Dana Daidouji, sandalwoods, Fujiiann, kitsunelover25, Celestial Fox, mau ty, Beth, Yujin-chan aka Neko Megami, Leighbriel-Misokita, Hiyami, Kat, amy, Pink Sakura, ChIbI rIn, Kaguya's Chaos, Sesshomaru's mate lady Yuzuki, x tales of glory, Adrianne, Myztical Star, InuFairy77, raye the great, Golden Rose, honey-gurl88, KNE, Ayjah, funnygirl, I-LUV-FLUFFY-SAN46, SakuraoftheDream, melissa, Tinkerbell-69-4ever, chibiNeko192, …nox, ioke, Sarah, whoeveryouwantittobe, SaturnNeko, ShindyNova, Golden-Eyed-Girl, Unicorn'sWhisper, Gopher2806 **and **confused mentor. **

**Lady Akina**- I actually haven't decided if I should make Inuyasha and Sesshomaru related. I think I'm going to have to though…but the one thing that stops me from writing that in is the fact that it's always cliché with Kagome finding out that Inuyasha is Sesshomaru's brother and she never knew and all that stuff…what do _you_ think?

**j.b Raven**- That was a funny review. Yes, Sesshomaru _does_ love his Escalate doesn't he? I can't wait to see what Kagome does when she finds out he has half a dozen other cars…

**Darkness Carrier**- Happy Belated Birthday eh? Am I taking on too much with three fics in progress? I promise to update as soon as I can though.

**Rhea9**- I agree! Humor and Romance are a good combo, especially for Sesshomaru and Kagome fics. Besides, I just _love_ Romantic Comedies.

**CrystallineLily**- What can I say? I knew that you would immediately congratulate yourself on campaigning for hard and vigorously for this fic…and for being like the number one advocate. Just to let you know, you make ME laugh too! And yes, you seemed a bit…coughoddcough in that review. Yes, it seems that you just _may be_ one of my most devoted and insane reviewers…

**MindlessInuyashaWander**- Have you succeeded in saying it all in one breath yet?

**Dana Daidouji**- Yes, I do know a thing or two about cars. So thank you on that note. Unfortun ately, I happen to like those big expensive SUVs and trucks that I will never ever be able to afford.

**sandalwoods**- You like me?!?!?! I LOVE you!!! Your works are amazing. Your Girl at the Corner totally reminded me of the movie (starring Keanu Reeves!) Sweet November. I admire you!!! I can't believe you liked my fic!!!! I am honored!

**Fujiiann**- Now feeling the pressure…

**kitsunelover25**- I am your favorite author?! faints

**Celestial Fox**- Hola! Que pasa amiga? (Despite having taken Spanish for quite a few years, my Spanish-speaking skills don't go much further than that)

**Beth- **Yes, I believe you have experienced something called Karma…

**Hiyami- **It _is_ too bad not all authors write long chapters…perhaps that is why I try and write long ones, I don't want the rest of the world to suffer like I have…

**Pink Sakura-** That was a funny review. Remember, if you get caught kicking cans at nice cars, you _will not_ say you got the idea from me!

**Kaguya's**** Chaos-** The ice cream…yes…the ice cream…

**x**** tales of glory- **Wow! Another Korean!!! Definite Asian Pride. Do you watch other Korean dramas and movies? I personally liked the movie My Sassy Girl and My Tutor Friend, and don't even get me started on dramas!!!

**Adrianne-** You actually read my A/N?!

**honey-****gurl808- **I'm glad that you appreciated the comedy! Yes, Sess/Kago forever! I think I'm going to have to make Inuyasha and Sesshomaru brothers…it doesn't really work otherwise…does it? I haven't decided on a specific age, but Sesshomaru is going to be in his early 30's. I'm glad you loved all the funny parts and stuff…loved your review too.

**Ayjah****-** Eh…I think Inuyasha's going to have to make an appearance later on…

**Inukamisashi**- L.I.P eh? I actually found out the name of the movie. Translated it means "You can't buy my love" or something. But yeah, the plot may sound familiar…but no worries…you have no idea of these little odd ideas I concoct in my head. But thanks a million, and I could never hate you!

**chibiNeko192-** Yeah…I really did. I hate math, but I endured the evil subject just to please you all…the things I do to make you readers happy…

**Sarah-** sigh I have sort of noticed that too. Thank you for appreciating my effort to use proper grammar and spelling…and have a plot. To be honest, it irks me when people write stories that lack the above.

**confused**** mentor-** A masterpiece?! turns red And thank you for appreciating my 'research.'

* * *

**Day 1: Kagome's 'Karwash'**

* * *

"Hey…Kagome?!"

Kagome opened one eye. "Ugh…it is _way_ too early…" Kagome muttered. She flopped over onto her back, and managed to creak the other eye open. "I'm awake!" she announced, her voice groggy.

"There's someone at the door!" Sango yelled again. Kagome blinked in an attempt to clear the haze that clouded her mind.

* * *

**Flashback**

"I'm home!" Kagome announced as she removed the key from the lock of their apartment door. Instead of living in a dormitory on a college campus, Sango and Kagome lived a few minutes away from the campus at an apartment complex…that was much cheaper than a dorm. That and it was much roomier. The place was pretty run down and it was always too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer…but hey…they still had a roof over their heads.

"You hungry?" Sango asked as she came in from the kitchen.

"Whaddya make?" Kagome chirped as she took off her puffy white jacket and tossed it onto the couch.

"Mm, a chicken Caesar salad." Sango replied.

"Eh…I'll just make myself my Ramen."

"It won't kill you to eat a little bit of lettuce. As a matter of fact, it'd be beneficial." Sango informed Kagome as she shoved a forkful of the salad into her mouth.

"I know! But I just feel like eating Ramen." Kagome said a slight guilty tone in her voice.

"You _always_ feel like eating Ramen." Sango reminded her.

"Well…I eat healthy stuff sometimes." Kagome insisted.

"Ice Cream doesn't count Kagome."

Kagome let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, you got me…I'll eat your salad…" Kagome reluctantly carried a fork over to Sango who was sitting on the couch, and joined her. "Itshokay." Kagome admitted, her mouth full. It was a wonder how the two managed to live together. Kagome was a messy and unorganized junkie while Sango was a neat, exercising health food fanatic. Luckily for Kagome, Sango wasn't a vegan or vegetarian.

"Is it just me or do you seem…happy?" Sango asked as she noted that Kagome was humming. Kagome rarely hummed, which was a good thing considering that Kagome wasn't a very good singer.

Kagome grinned, and withdrew the $50 dollar bill that Sesshomaru had given her from her pocket. "See this?"

Sango's eyes bugged out. "It's been forever since I've seen one of those!" she exclaimed.

Kagome nodded. "Yup, and it's _all_ mine!" Kagome pocketed the money again. It wasn't often that Kagome Higurashi had big bills like that, and so she would relish the feel of it while she could.

"So what did you have to do for Inuyasha?" Sango teased as she put the plastic salad bowl into the sink.

And the flood gates opened.

The tears Kagome should have cried _hours_ ago were released. Kagome sobbed, sobbed, and sobbed…while throwing a tantrum. "Heeee dumped meeeeeeee!" she wailed as she began to beat at one of the couch pillows. She then beat the couch _with_ the pillow for each word she spoke. "I…can't…believe…he…dumped…me!" Kagome threw the pillow across the room. "I hate him!" she screamed.

Sango watched, alarmed. Kagome had never had such an emotional break down before. Even when she found out that Inuyasha had cheated on her the first time she hadn't taken the news this hard. Kagome showed no sign of anger after that. All she showed was sadness and hurt. She ended up using up _exactly_ one box of Kleenex, no more and no less. Kleenex wasn't cheap! She had to use sparingly.

"I'll be back!" Sango said quickly as she grabbed her light dark blue wind breaker, and dashed out the door.

Kagome sniveled in reply, and began on a whole new round of sobs.

Sango raced down to the little market just outside the radius of the university's campus to buy several pints of ice cream. She bought three pints of chocolate chip cookie dough for Kagome, and one pint of Rocky Road (Now with _extra_ chunks of fudge!) for herself. Being a health food advocate she couldn't help but wonder if she had bought too much. Buying all this ice cream was pretty much encouraging Kagome's unhealthy eating habits, but ice cream did do wonders…and she deserved a treat too.

"Thanks a lot Sango," Kagome stuttered, her voice shaky from all her tears. Kagome stopped crying…at least long enough to eat a whole pint and a half of her chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Then Kagome began crying…and moaning.

"Kagome! Someone's going to complain about the noise if you don't try and turn the volume down a bit!" Sango hissed.

"I can't help it! My stomach…and heart hurt!" Kagome wailed, droning out Sango's pleading.

"How many times do I have to tell you that just because some actress can eat several gallons of ice cream doesn't necessarily mean you can?" Sango reprimanded. "It's called a _movie_ and not real Kagome!" Sango often had to remind Kagome that it was only in movies that people managed to eat several gallons of ice cream while wallowing in their sadness without getting a major stomachache.

Kagome nodded tearfully. "I hate ice cream." she grumbled bitterly.

"We'll see about that," Sango remarked as she put away the ice cream into the freezer.

"I do! And you know what else I hate? I hate cousins who steal other cousins' boyfriends, boyfriends who dump their girlfriends for their girlfriends' cousin and weird rich guys with silver hair who care waaay too much about their cars." Kagome was now up off the couch, and pacing back and forth. Sango watched Kagome and paid astute attention as if she were in a lecture.

"And now that I think about it, this is all Kikyo's fault! If she hadn't seduced Inuyasha then he wouldn't have dumped me and I wouldn't have been so angry and upset meaning that I wouldn't have run off, kicked the can that dented the car and then I wouldn't have to pay him off!"

Before Kagome could go off on another long confusing tangent, Sango interjected. "Kagome…whose car did you dent?"

Kagome looked at Sango blankly. "You don't know who I'm talking about?"

"No…"

"How can you _not_ know who I'm talking about?"

"Well, you use the word 'he' and 'him' a lot without making clear if you're talking about several different 'he's' and 'him's.' It's really confusing!"

Kagome thought about Sango's words before plopping down onto the couch again. "Ok, so it all starts out with me going to the café to see Inuyasha-"

"I got all that, but happened after he dumped you?" Sango asked as she hugged the pillow that Kagome had previously been beating on.

"Well…I ran off…and I saw a can, and I swear it had Inuyasha's face on it! So I kicked it…and…it hit some guy's car. It was a Cadillac Escalate, and you couldn't even see the dent! So I really don't know why he went off on me about it, I bet he could fix the stupid car by himself."

"Hmm…Kagome, it seems like this guy was pretty lenient on you."

"Lenient? If he hadn't wounded my pride then I wouldn't have tried to fix it to redeem myself and create a total of two dents, and I wouldn't owe him $1100, and I wouldn't have to work for him to pay him off!" Kagome complained.

"You created another dent?" Sango asked in disbelief.

"But I fixed the original dent!" Kagome protested.

Sango shook her head in dismay. "Kagome, I can't believe you're not in jail! You made _two_ dents in his **Cadillac Escalate**! I would've taken you to court!"

"Come on! It's not that great of a car!"

"But still! He could have taken you to court for vandalizing private property. I'd be thankful if I were you."

"That doesn't matter! What matters is that he treated me without respect! He like harassed me and stared me down, and commanded and-"

"Kagome…you dented his car…" Sango said slowly.

"Sango! Whose side are you on?!"

"I guess you feel better…"

"No! I am not feeling better! Think about it Sango! I have to spend the next 25 days for eight hours every day with…with…eh…"

"With?"

"Umm…"

"You don't even know his name??"

"I never said that!" Kagome then grabbed her white puffy jacket, and began to empty its pockets. She ended up with a paperclip, half a piece of gum, a candy wrapper…and a card. "Ah hah. His name is Mr. Sesshomaru Arishima…more like Mr. Sesshomaru Arrogant." Kagome muttered with bitterness.

"I personally think you should be thanking your lucky stars." Sango commented. "He gave you $50…and is letting you work for him instead of suing him."

Kagome could have sworn a vein popped in her forehead. "He still could have been more compassionate to my case." she grumbled. "And you should have heard the guy Sango! He thinks he's hot enough and worthy of the title 'Master.'"

Sango raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Master. He said that I have to call him Master Sesshomaru or Sesshomaru-sama. Now _that's_ arrogance."

"Actually, it just sounds like he wants respect."

"Sango!!!"

"Sorry!"

**End of Flashback**

* * *

Kagome groaned as the haze in her mind cleared. She actually _cried_ because of Inuyasha. At least she stopped crying after an hour. "Inuyasha doesn't deserve my tears." she grumbled.

"Kagome?!" Sango yelled again.

"Coming!" Kagome let out an 'eep' as she tumbled out of the bed as she tried to wrestle herself free from the confines of her blanket. She finally wriggled free of her blanket, and leaving it on the floor of the bedroom she shared with Sango she hurriedly opened the door and tried to walk into the living room at the same time. She ended up walking too fast and opening the door too slow for she hit her forehead…with a door she opened by herself. "Owwww…"

"Kagome, are you alright?"

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Kagome assured her, her voice rather vicious sounding.

"There's some guy here to talk to you."

'It better not be Inuyasha. I don't care how much he grovels and begs, I _will not_ take him back!' Kagome thought to herself. But it was definitely not Inuyasha at the door. It was an old man with rather greenish skin, bulbous eyes…who came up to Kagome's waist. Kagome was pretty short…so this would mean that this guy was _really_ short. "May I help you?" Kagome asked as she stifled a yawn.

"Yes!" the man said authoritatively. "I am here to remind you that Master Sesshomaru does not like people who are late." Kagome's eyes grew to size of the old man's, and she frantically began running around and panicking. "Hmph. Master Sesshomaru was right about the girl." The old man said to Sango who was trying to figure out what was going on. "Yes, Master Sesshomaru knows everything! He said the girl was clumsy…" As if on cue, a loud 'thud' was heard from the bedroom. It was Kagome…tripping over the blanket she had left on the ground. "And annoying and stupid…"

"That's it, you're going out!" Sango shoved the old man out into the hallway and slammed the door shut. Sango then walked into the bedroom as Kagome was trying to brush her teeth and hair at the same time. "Kagome? What's going on?"

"I'm going to be late!" Kagome complained as she ran to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste foam into the sink. "And he's going to kill me! He told me he _hate_ people who are late. What if he makes me spend another day or something with him?"

"What time do you have to be there?" Sango asked, worried for her friend.

"Noon!" Kagome said as she splashed water onto her face.

"Umm…Kagome?"

"No time Sango! No time! What's the weather like?" Kagome asked as she ran into the bedroom.

"Kagome…"

"Weather Sango! Weather!" Kagome chanted.

"It's 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's kind of cloudy, but it's going to shower later." Sango said as she read the thermometer that dangled outside the window, and the strip of the 'Week's Weather' cut out from the newspaper that was taped to the wall. "But Kagome…?"

"Thanks Sango! I'll see you later!" Kagome said as she zipped past her wearing the same puffy white jacket, dark blue jeans with tennis shoes, and a back pack in hand.

One of the reasons that Kagome never was able to dress accordingly to the weather was because the thermometer was broken, but of course neither one of the girls knew that…and meteorologists were always wrong. "KAGOME!" Sango yelled, desperate to get her friend to just stop for a second and listen to her.

"Bye Sango!" Kagome yelled back as she grabbed an apple, and headed for the door.

"IT'S ONLY NINE O' CLOCK!"

Kagome froze, her hand just about to touch the door knob. "What?"

Sango sighed. "It's only 9:00 o' clock. You still have several hours before you need to be there." Sango informed Kagome.

Kagome stared at Sango, and Sango looked back at Kagome. Seconds of silence passed until Kagome dropped the apple…and hell broke loose…at least that's how it seemed to Sango. "I can't believe him! He sent some guy who was even weirder looking than him to tell me I'm late!!!"

That's how it was.

Kagome was the temperamental one….sometimes a drama queen. But she was actually the kind of person who liked to help others in need out, most people described her as a kindred spirit. She would appear to be the quiet kind, but there was definitely a fire in her. She was still a little kid at heart to be honest…still naïve, unsure of herself… She always gave everything her all even though she tended to be lazy and disorganized. Kagome was…simply put, Kagome.

Sango was the more level headed one. She was the more mature and organized one, more serious, not nearly as bubbly as Kagome. But maybe it was because she had to grow up fast. After her mother died, Sango had to grow up, and take care of her father and younger brother. Sango was the quiet and shy kind….who had a fierce spirit and ambitions.

Sango was as Kagome would say, "too perfect."

Perhaps.

Sango was on Tokyo University's Cross Country Team, Soccer Team and Judo Team. The number one emblazoned on the back of her Soccer Jersey told all. On top of that she managed to get extremely good grades, and hold a weekend job at the market she had bought ice cream at the day before. Sango was one of those 'early-go-getters', and woke up every morning at 6:30 am religiously to jog around the campus regardless of what time she had gone to bed, and four times a week, she would work out at the gym too.

She was definitely one of those people that you wished you could be. She was of brain, brawn _and _beauty even though her athletic-ness and smartness drove a lot of potential boyfriends away. Sango repeatedly told herself that it was a good thing because that would leave her more time to focus on her studies and sports.

After shouting and waving her hands around for a good hour, Kagome finally helped herself to a bowl of cereal, and left by 11:00. "If I go insane by the end of the 25 days, it's not _my _fault. It's his! I mean think about it! I have to spend 25 days with …that Mr. Arrogant!"

"Kagome, you shouldn't call him that. You should call him by his real name, besides, how do you know if he's arrogant?"

Kagome ignored Sango. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" she resolved.

Sango merely smiled to herself. "You go ahead and do that."

* * *

"Thank you very much sir!" Kagome chirped cheerfully as the taxi driver pulled to a stop. "Is this enough?" she asked as she pulled out the $50 dollar bill that Sesshomaru had given her yesterday.

"I'll get you your change," the driver told her as he took the $50 dollar bill from her. The driver had to tug on it a little hard than one would normally have to. Kagome was rather reluctant to give it up. The driver handed her her change, and Kagome got out of the cab. She had her backpack with her with some homework she had yet to finish. Instead of finding a house in front of her, Kagome found a long and winding driveway…she wasn't going to have to walk up the thing now…was she?

With two minutes to spare and flushed, Kagome rang the door bell of 'the castle' as she called it. It was answered by a little girl…and that old man who had shown up at the apartment squawking about how she wasn't supposed to open the door for strangers. "Hi! My name is Rin. What's yours?"

Kagome forgot about being angry at Sesshomaru, and the long speech she had prepared on her walk up. She knelt down to Rin's level, and grinned. "My name's Kagome. How old are you Rin?"

Rin smiled, revealing that she was missing her two front teeth. "I'm seven."

Kagome was about to tell Rin that she was 22, but a dark shadow loomed over her. Kagome had an ominous feeling about who it was, and slowly looked up. "You're late."

"Uncle Sesshomaru!" Rin exclaimed as she hugged Sesshomaru's leg. Kagome thought that Sesshomaru was going to shake her off, but instead he reached down and patted Rin on the head.

Kagome's jaw went slack.

"I see that it is going to be normal for me to remind you that you look most peculiar with your mouth wide open."

Kagome immediately closed her mouth, and glared at Sesshomaru. "I am _not_ late."

Sesshomaru looked at his watch, a beautiful stainless steel Rolex with a thick gold band around the face. "You most certainly are. You are two minutes late."

"Impossible! I was two minutes early! Ask Rin! She opened the door!"

"Are you incapable of talking?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?!" she demanded.

"All you seem to do is shout."

"I do not!" she protested indignantly.

"You prove my point."

Kagome scowled. "Well I was early, and how come you didn't tell me I was going to have to walk up a five mile long drive way?"

"You exaggerate. It is only a quarter of a mile long."

"Well…it was _like_ five miles long." Kagome grumbled.

"Now you are three minutes late."

Kagome let out an angry huff. "Well, it's not polite to enter someone's house without being invited first." She said smugly.

"Of course…my apologies. Please…_do_ come in." Kagome wanted to scowl again. Only he could make being polite sound so…unpleasant and impolite.

"Thank you." Kagome said stiffly. Kagome's breath caught in her throat when she saw the inside. It was beautiful. The ceiling was incredibly high, and the door opened up to a large and spacious living room. There was a white staircase that led up to another floor…and directly to a walk way that went across the living room to what she guessed was the other part of the second floor. The floor was all of a beautiful dark smoky gray marble that contrasted with the white walls and staircase.

There were several steps that led to the actual living room area. In the living room there was a fire place, a white rug with two black leather couches, two armchairs, and a large glass coffee table. Above the fire place was a number of pictures. All of them were of…Sesshomaru. There weren't exactly pictures, more like magazine articles that his pictures were in, magazine covers, newspaper articles... 'They should have shrunk his face, and not blown it up,' Kagome thought bitterly. 'If that isn't arrogant than I don't know what is…'

"Since this is the first day, I will let your tardiness slide," Sesshomaru began, snapping Kagome out of her stupor. "You will be working with me for the next…seven hours, and you will be allowed to dine with me and Rin…and I am a reasonable person," Kagome snorted. Sesshomaru stopped speaking, and looked at her.

"Sorry…I sneezed." Kagome explained. If she had been the sort of person to use vulgar language she would have said, 'Excuse me. Sorry, I'm just allergic to bullshit.' But she wasn't, so she didn't.

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow just slightly, and resumed speaking and circling Kagome again. Kagome couldn't help but feel like a piece of meat…or a carcass…and Sesshomaru was some vulture. "I will include the time it takes for you to eat into the seven hours. _But_ if you purposely eat slowly, I will _add_ onto the time you spend here." Kagome cringed at the thought. "I will not tolerate you doing something other than what I assign you to do."

Kagome nodded.

"Jaken, take Rin back to her playroom, and bring me the contract."

"Right away my lord!" Jaken bowed deeply before waddling up the stairs, and ushering Rin off into her 'playroom.'

Kagome tried to suppress her giggles. How did _he_ manage to convince somebody to address him as lord? "Does something amuse you?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Kagome said quickly.

"You lie."

"I do not!"

"I rest my case." Kagome wrinkled her nose. He was _impossible_. What was he? A lawyer? Jaken soon came back, and Sesshomaru walked down into the living room, and seated himself at the head armchair. Kagome followed, and sat on the adjacent couch. "Here is the contract. It states that you acknowledge damaging my car, and that I will pay for the damages and in return you will work for me for the rest of the month of March, 7 hours a day-"

"I can read ya' know." Kagome informed him as she snatched the contract from Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru merely eyed her. Kagome tried not to squirm, and tried to focus completely on the contract. She got tired of reading it half way through. 'He's the meanest, most arrogant and stuck up person I've ever met in my life, but he can't be sleazy…like _Kikyo_.' Kagome thought. 'At least I hope so…' she added as she picked up the fancy pen, and signed her name on the line. Jaken grabbed the contract from her before the ink even had a chance to dry, and promptly went upstairs to put the contract away.

Sesshomaru slowly got up not too long afterwards, and began to walk away. Before Kagome could ask where he was going, he turned his head slowly. "Someone will be along in a little while to show you what you are to do. The only break you will be given is for dinner, and you will be dining with me and Rin."

Kagome found that all her questions were answered. Huffily she plopped back down in her seat. After a while she was up and out of her seat, and looking at the framed magazines, pictures and newspaper articles all pertaining to 'Sesshomaru-sama.' "On TIME magazine? That must mean he speaks English…one of the hottest men alive? Who are they kidding? One of the richest men alive? That's funny, I don't see one that says most arrogant man alive. What sort of person frames everything that has their face on it?"

Kagome looked at the framed items for a little longer before returning to her chair. "Not arrogant? Hah! I'll bring a camera, and show Sango who's arrogant." She soon began jiggling her feet up and down out of boredom….until she hit the glass table. "OUCH!"

"A pitiful creature you are."

Kagome whirled around, only to see Sesshomaru again, leaning against the wall, with something akin to a smirk on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"I am pleased to see that you did not break my table. I would not want you around for more than 25 days."

Kagome glared at him. "You're just mean." she said. "You're just a grumpy, mean, _old_ man!" Kagome wished she hadn't said that as one of Sesshomaru's hands clamped down onto her arm. "I was joking! I'm a joker. I joke a lot!" she insisted as she was dragged outside.

The death grip on her arm did not loosen until they reached their 'destination.' "I was going to be lenient and take pity on you, but you make it difficult for one to be kind." Kagome was too scared to laugh. "I expect a professional job," he told her. He then leaned down, enough so that the ends of his hair were tickling Kagome's nose. "And believe me, I _will_ inspect your work."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Kagome yelled as Sesshomaru walked away. "You pig!" she added when she was sure he was gone and inside the house. Kagome let out an angry huff and turned around. Kagome almost fainted at the sight.

In front of her was a stable of cars. There were…so…many… She was at loss for words. She stood there for a good fifteen minutes. There were seven cars in total. There was a burgundy Denali, a silver Aston Martin, a dark blue Mercedes-Benz convertible, a black Lincoln Navigator, a silver Lexus SUV, a dark green Range Rover and of course…the silver Cadillac Escalade.

* * *

Her arms ached…she was cold…and wet…and hungry. 'I've burned more calories than I've eaten!' she thought as she sprayed the Range Rover with water. This was the dirtier of the other two cars she had already done. She had done the Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz. They had been easy enough, and besides the fact that the Range Rover was a magnet for clumps of dirt, it wasn't too bad.

She couldn't believe the precision that she had to exercise as she cleaned the cars. It was exactly this much soap for this car, and exactly this much turtle wax for this car. It was _absurd_. "He obviously has more money than he knows what to do with," she grumbled bitterly. "He's a freak. That's what he is," she affirmed to herself. "He's a freak. A car-loving freak with weird silver hair with more money that he knows what to do with." she concluded as she finished waxing the rims of the Range Rover. "If _I_ were him, I would use _my_ money to better this world."

It was late afternoon by the time she was on the Lexus SUV. She was working at a much slower pace now. Then again, these cars were much bigger…and took more time. "Why couldn't he have bought smaller cars?!" she exclaimed, frustrated. "Or even better, he could not have bought so many! What is it, a car for each day?!"

"Do you talk to yourself often?" Kagome almost fell off the small step ladder she was using to wash the top of the car.

"Do you try to send people falling to their deaths often?" Kagome shot back as she washed the car more vigorously.

"If you scrub any harder you will scratch the car."

Kagome immediately began washing the car as if she were giving a baby a bath. The thought of 'inflicting damage' on another one of his cars just gave her the chills. And then there was the way he put it; it made it seem like she had assaulted someone. 'Hmph.'

"Your work digresses in quality."

"You're _still_ here?!" Kagome asked with a groan. Kagome waited for him to say something like 'I'm the big bad boss here and you are only the oppressed and insignificant worker' but no such reply came. Thinking that perhaps he had left she turned around only to be greeted with a spray of water. Kagome let out a shrill shriek, and almost fell off the ladder again. "What are you doing you psycho?! Stop it…Ok...That's enough...I'M SORRY!"

"I will not hesitate in using forceful measures to put you in place."

"Ya' know there's a fine line between forceful and just down right _heinous_," Kagome muttered as she stepped down the small ladder, dripping wet. That earned her another blast from the hose. "But yeah, you're doing a great job at saying on the forceful side." she added. She got sprayed again. "What was that one for?!" she demanded as she tried to wring the water out of her hair.

"For good measure."

* * *

Kagome finished washing all of the cars by six. Not only had she exercised great control in not turning the silver Cadillac Escalate into a crushed up piece of metal, she had cleaned the insides of all of them. All of the cars had had the same interior. The obviously expensive black leather seats with 'S.A' engraved into the headrests with silver lettering, and black floor covering. All of the cars also had DVD players with 15" screens in the back. She guessed that they had been put there for Rin.

When Kagome wasn't thinking about how hungry she was, or how much she hated Sesshomaru, she was thinking about Rin. So Sesshomaru was her uncle? Rin seemed like such a sweet girl, but then again, Kagome though all kids were sweet, even the ones who were always hyper, annoying, and spoiled. Kagome couldn't help but feel sorry for Rin. It beat her how Rin could hug that guy without biting him.

Kagome was sure that there were numerous other gadgets in the cars, after all, all of those buttons had to do something. All of the cars had been extremely clean, and she though it a waste of time, until she came to the silver Cadillac Escalate. The source of her current state, a majority of her problems, and what only increased her hunger. She had spent a good part of an hour cleaning the front passenger seat, and the floor in front of it and behind it. Those places had been covered with sticky white gunk; white gunk almost impossible to get off of the black Italian leather without taking half of it off as well. But Kagome had been extremely gentle, the thought of having to work for him even more because she had damaged the leather convinced her to work carefully.

Kagome's hair was frizzy and limp, her skin clammy, and her stomach gnawed with hunger. Jakken had brought her two sandwiches about three hours ago, but seriously, as if two sandwiches was going to be enough for her. She was a working woman! She needed her nutrition. At least her clothes were dry. She had brought the wrong back pack with her, which, in this case had turned out to be a good thing. The back pack had been Sango's, and had a pair of sweats, socks, a shirt and a wind breaker. Everything was too big, but it was definitely better than nothing.

She trekked back to the house, and entered in from the back door that led to the kitchen. Delicious aromas filled her nose as she stumbled in. "Mmm…that smells good."

"I hope you did a proper job the first time."

Kagome's mood turned slightly sour as she heard his voice. "Duh."

"If you continue to be disrespectful I will continue to give you physically laborious tasks."

"I was going to say Sesshomaru-sama after that ya' know." Kagome told him. Her voice didn't even sound sarcastic…she was too tired…and she needed food…desperately.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything and merely watched her. Kagome seated herself on one of the high chairs at the counter, and watched as the chef prepared the meal, a small thread of saliva developing at the corner of her mouth. Sesshomaru silently sat next to her. "I trust you cleaned the inside of my Cadillac well?" he asked.

Kagome wiped the drool with the sleeve of Sango's windbreaker. Sesshomaru looked on with disgust. "Yeah, but whatever that white gunk was, I suggest you never let it near any of your cars."

"Interesting. From now on you are not allowed to have any sort of ice cream within an 8 feet radius of any of my cars."

Kagome almost fell from her seat.

"I had to suffer through that repugnant smell my drive home."

"Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is _not_ 'repugnant.' "

"That may be the case, but that pool of your saliva is most repulsive."

'Well I think you're repulsive.' Kagome thought. "I am _not_ drooling." Fortunately the food was ready before Kagome was required to say anything more. She began to shovel food into her mouth. Pasta was good. Unfortunately Kagome had no clue how to prepare pasta of any kind, unless ramen counted, let alone the 'Italian' style. The sauce was white and creamy, and Kagome was wallowing in bliss. Her mouth also wallowed…in the sauce.

Sesshomaru watched Kagome out of the corner of his eye. He was glad that Rin wasn't here at the moment. She might pick up on this…_girl's_…hideous etiquette. The mere thought was a nightmare. Sesshomaru was afraid that he had lost his appetite. "Do you always eat in such a…vicious manner?"

Kagome speared several strings of pasta, and held it up to her eye level thoughtfully. "Mmm…no, not really, but right now, I'm really angry." she informed him. "I can be _really_ nasty when I'm angry…but food makes me happy."

Sesshomaru, who was about to take a sip from his glass of water, set it down warily. At first glance, it was hard to understand why he had done so…upon closer inspection, one could see several particles of pasta…floating about. It wasn't extremely hard to figure out where they had come from. "Then I suggest you enjoy your food while you can." Sesshomaru then left the kitchen by the back door that Kagome had come in by.

"I bet he's going to find something wrong, and make me wash the car all over again." Kagome grumbled bitterly. The chef gave her a pitying look as he carried a tray of pasta and milk out of the kitchen. Kagome finished hers not too long after, and decided to go see what Mr. Arrogant was up to. The sound of the gravel crunching underneath her feet seemed unusually loud. It was easy to see the car stable since it was practically a beacon of light. Seemed like the stable was more high-tech than her apartment.

Kagome stopped walking, and checked her watch. It was almost seven. While _he_ kissed his cars good-night, _she_ would head on out...it wasn't like he'd notice anyways. She began to slowly walk towards the tall black iron spiked fencing that seemed to surround the whole property. She gripped it, and shook it…as if she could knock it down. So much for wishful thinking. She felt like she was in jail.

"Where are you going?"

Kagome spun around quickly. "No where!"

"Your lies are almost as pathetic as your attempt to escape."

"What? I've served my seven hours…not in a way I'd like to have, but I've served them! Ok?!"

"That is where you are wrong…and I am right. You have five minutes left."

"That's crazy! It's seven o' clock now! I came at noon. I'll even count for you. One o' clock, two o'clock, three o' clock, four o' clock-"

"No, you arrived at 12:05 pm." Sesshomaru corrected.

"No, no, no. I was _definitely_ here by noon."

"I have been timing you wench. Do not try to-"

"Here we go with the wench-thing again. I have a name ya' know."

"I am well aware we-"

"Ah hah! You were about to call me wench again!"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "I do not think so."

"Funny. I know so." Kagome retorted.

"Do you wish to clean my cars for the next 24 days?" he threatened.

"NO!" Kagome protested. "Kagome's Carwash is out of business! We've gone bankrupt…oh look at the time…it's 7:05 pm…BYE!" Kagome zipped past him, and disappeared inside the house by way of the back kitchen door. He stood at the fence and watched her race down the drive way.

A rather sadistic look crossed Sesshomaru's face as he turned to go inside the house himself. He had yet to finish that letter to send to a company that his would possibly merge with. And he had to update his contacts list…and he needed to mail out those invitations for the business party that was to take place by the end of the month…

* * *

**((A/N: **I'm really nervous…so many people liked the first chapter! I almost FAINTED! I could hardly contain my happiness!!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Anyways, it's a lot of pressure to put out a second chapter after that…what if I let y'all down? I would never be able to live with myself You are all lucky that I was able to update this month…finals! Hides But yeah…I hope you guys liked this chapter as much as you guys liked the last chapter…I know…not a lot of Sess/Kago action...yet…))

**REVIEW!!! (Please and thank you! )**


	3. Day 2: The Secretary

**Disclaimer:** My claim to Inuyasha is as strong as my claim to being Prince William's fiancé…oh wait…they're nonexistent.

**Summary:** When her boyfriend and best friend, Inuyasha, dumps her for her cousin, college student Kagome ends up kicking a can in her fury. The little can accidentally damages the car of the rich businessman Sesshomaru. In order to pay him back she must spend 25 days basically as his slave! Sesshomaru could get his car fixed without even scratching his wallet, so is there something up his sleeve?

**A.N. **Also, I made it T just in case….seeing all these great authors get the work erased and etc…scared me!

* * *

Thanks for reviewing: **Darkness carrier, Miko Sorrow, chibiNeko192, shinchansgirl, j.b Raven, Kagamoesiun, LadyAkina, Ayjah, Karina, Kohaku Rose, Gopher2806, Pink Sakura, Red Satin and Black Silk, Minchi, iLuvJaeWon, Leunra, Celestial Fox, SaturnNeko, CrystallineLily, The Evil Liar, animeangeld, Jenny, ioke, confused mentor, Netealia Lane Foxwood, Roses Petal, ****moon-bunny735, Inukamisashi, Beth, ****Lily Drake Delano pottermalfoy****, SakuraoftheDream, Yoru Kitaru, Lady-Crymsyn, Aqua Miko, storywriter10791, silverkitsunekagome, ChaosKree8er, animefreak321654, Nytingale, ShindyNova, Rhea9, Unicorn'sWhisper, rebxl, ShadowDragonbaby, swimchic, hannah, Tinkerbell-69-4ever, golden-eyed-miko, Golden-Eyed Girl, Vegakitty, Dana Daidouji, spdsgirl, Kaiyou, andy, ****Purotekuta-Shikon**** no Tama, ashely41791, ra, cocovanilla, nuria, naraku luvuh, loverofSesshomaru, Fantasies, Aklutz**, **blue-angel11, kitsunelover25, Ice-Spirit Phoenix**, **fluffy-sama's worshiper**, **Kikyouhater101, silverhaireddragonlover, Ashley, SilverHairedAngel, Hunterofthenight, Deadly Tears, Tenrai Shinju, Avaeya Obvilias, DeadBHunter, Seishi Sairensuno, RuBiAx, Kaichai, hyper person, silent shadow, shippokiraraluver4ever, Shira LiFallen Tears, spiritchild029, Mirei Nochi, personwithnoname, Psychogirly, Lover of Angelus, Inuyasha5225, arlbeth, LonelyHanyouGirl, SheenaImara, honey-gurl808, PegasusRider, azn-modern-miko, Sessy-sama Lover, Sangfroid, Radio Active Redhead, Mori'quessir**, **renyun****, …,** **Angel Flame-Mary, dally-dilly-do, carzy-basketball-chick, AKA Hummer**, **sakura-no-hana-hoshi****, Blinky Blix, Mistress Chocolate, inus-gurl93 **and **parsnip. **

**Darkness carrier- **I want to say 'you're welcome,' but I feel obliged to thank you for thanking me for thanking you for your review and wishing you a happy belated birthday…and now its my turn to thank you some more for your review and for liking my fic and for thanking me for being such a great writer…ugh…now my head hurts…

**chibiNeko192-** Yeah, I want Sesshomaru's cars too. Thank you for wishing me luck on my finals, and I hope you do well on your midterms…and Chinese School? Must be even harder with regular school and all! Someone read my A/N at the bottom!

**shinchansgirl****-** My heart goes out to you…

**j.b**** Raven-** Actually, I was going to explain in later chapters that Jakken was the one who put up those pictures…ah, thank you, I do know my cars. Big fan of the Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines! By the way, you seem to understand this story pretty well. "a certain demon being pursued by a bi-polar teen high on chocolate chip cookie-dough ice cream..." That's genius. **LadyAkina****-** My reviewers are _so_ smart! I was thinking almost exactly the same thing…you know, letting Kagome find out on her own…either that or…can't tell you! 

**Ayjah****-** I actually really hate those fics where Kagome is the most beautiful and popular girl that all the guys want and etc. It bothers me. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and my story in general.

**iLuveJaeWon****- **I don't know who Jae Won is…and it's a 100 days eh? I wouldn't know, since I've never seen the movie, but you're definitely not the first person to say that it was a good movie…all my friends who have seen it have said the same thing.

**Leunra****- **I actually think that I will make Inuyasha and Sesshomaru brothers…half, that is. I like the little verbal fights too.

**Celestial Fox-** eyes wide open That is a very…strong…oath…! By the way, your little ice cream and sherbet combo sounds really good drools Damn…now we're all acting like Kagome!

**CrystallineLily****- **You're definitely the one who leaves the longest reviews! Trying to muffle your laughter at the latest installment? I was trying not to laugh from your review. Eh…you're Asian too? I share your pain…my parents are _brutal_ when it comes to 'education' and 'perfection' too. Personally, if I had just one of those cars, I'll be ok! And even if I didn't want to call you the #1 advocate of this fic…I think that it'd still be obvious who really is…obsessed…should I be scared now? By the way, thanks for wishing me luck on my finals…wish you luck…and a lot of it too!

**confused mentor-** Oh believe me…I'm sorry too.

**Netealia**** Lane Foxwood-** So flattered, that the first chapter was so good that you had to review! And that you still reviewed for the second chapter too!

**Roses Petal-** I owe Sesshy a big apology! I didn't mean to say that he actually kissed his cars at night…that was Kagome exaggerating things again. Kagome! Why do you exaggerate so much? Sheesh.

**Inukamisashi****-** Oh don't worry, Inuyasha will be back…

**silverkitsunekagome****-** I'm short too.

**Nytingale****-** I think that Sesshomaru and Inuyasha will be half brothers…but notice that they have different last names!

**Rhea9-** Thank you wishing me luck on my finals!

**rebxl****-** Sesshomaru is a baaad influence.

**hannah****- **Kagome was uncouth in bad language because she never cursed…or as in rude? Because I guess she was a bit fiery, but hmm…yeah…sorry if you thought that…thanks for reviewing.

**Tinkerbell-69-4ever- **Thanks for the reassurance!

**golden-eyed-miko- **You're not going to sue me or anything now are you!

**Vegakitty****-** Hope that uh…Wufei got Vega home alright…you know, I kinda need Sesshomaru for this fic…

**Dana Daidouji-** Thank you! Oops…I think I'm going to have to settle for 'Cadillac Escalate' now, and Sesshomaru says 'Thank you' about the cars…and I will see if Sesshomaru approves of the SLR McLaren…

**spdsgirl****-** I love your fic, To Make a Wish, too!

**Kaiyou****-** A masterpiece! –faints- Ah I see…so I'm not the only person who think that laughing more will help you live longer!

**Purotekuta-Shikon**** no Tama- **Thank you for saying how you like the pace I'm keeping it at. Glad you enjoyed and found it funny.

**cocovanilla****-** Well you thought correctly!

**Fantasies-** I _guess_ I can forgive you for forgetting to review for the first chapter…

**Aklutz****-** Ah yes…I am pleased that you laughed so hard…I must be doing my job!

**blue-angel11- **I am! –dies-

**kitsunelover25-** I'm glad you didn't die from choking…

**Ice-Spirit Phoenix-** Don't usually like AU! Wow…I feel honored that you like this one!

**Hunter of the Night-** Hi Catherine.

**Deadly Tears-** For a second I was worried that you might have died from laughter, but then realized that you _did_ review meaning that you _couldn't_ be dead…unless…But anyways, thanks for putting it on your Favorites!

**DeadBHunter****- **Eh…chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is definitely white…brown! Are you feeling ok!

**Seishi Sairensuno**- Sorry that you find Kagome annoying…just to let you know, she'll be the same throughout the _whole_ fic.

**hyper person-** Yeah, finals…bleh, and then after that there was the SATs and my school musical…I'm dying!

**Mirei**** Nochi-** At first I was going to reply that there were _plenty_ of things wrong with me, but then I read the rest of the review, and felt inclined to keep the obnoxiousness to myself…I was glowing from your review.

**arlbeth****-** I would appreciate it if you would tell me how Kagome's OOC.

**honey-gurl808- **Wow, you even took the time to find your favorite parts and then copy and paste them…!

**azn-modern-miko****-** Ah, you are the second person to get that! Congratulations.

**Sangfroid-** Erin Ross! How kind of you to read my fic and leave me a review!

**Radio Active Redhead-** Really! Yes! Thank you!

**…**- Whenever you stop screaming?

**Angel Flame-Mary**- Ack! You've actually been counting! I'm trying to update, I really am…! But my problem is that I always type out several different versions of one scene…to see different possibilities and ways a certain event can unfold…that and all the other stuff I have is killing me! But never fear, I am always trying to update…

**AKA Hummer-** Thank you, thank you! What! People talk about my fic on A Single Spark? Seriously! Now that my curiosity has been aroused, you _have_ to tell me what they say about it! I'm glad you found a link, and even gladder than you like how Kagome is not perfect and how Sesshomaru is well…Sesshomaru.

**inus-****gurl93- **Her family will make an appearance later. Don't worry!

* * *

**Day 2: The Secretary**

* * *

Kagome's eyes shot open. Her heart was racing and there were beads of sweat on her face. For once in her life she was glad to be awake; she had been about to be run over by an Aston Martin. Just then Sango came into the room. "Kagome! It's time to wa- KAGOME!" 

"Good morning!" Kagome chirped cheerfully, trying to erase memories of the Range Rover chasing her across the river.

"You're…you're…you're…awake," Sango stuttered.

"I know! I kind of like waking up early now!" As soon as Kagome said that, Sango knew that something was wrong.

"Kagome? What's wrong?" Sango asked as her look of surprise was replaced with a rather reprimanding one.

"_Wrong_? Nothing's wrong Sango. I didn't know it was a crime to be _happy_…geez," Kagome was about to get out of bed, but realized that she couldn't move…well, she could, but it would be at the expense of her comfort, and a lot of pain. "But you see, I've sort of entered this trance-like meditative state…"

Sango looked at Kagome, not believing a single word her friend had said. She crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the wall. "Kagome…how many times do we have to go over this?" Sango inquired. "Your eyes dart around when you lie, either that or you twiddle your fingers."

"Sango, I don't know what you're talking about." Kagome said with a straight face, her focus on Sango…but then she realized that she was playing thumb wars by herself. So she then tried not moving her hands. She kept them tightly clasped, but then she found herself looking everywhere but Sango's face. It became a vicious cycle. She would put all of her effort into not doing one of the 'two,' but then she would have no effort to keep the other in check…and trying to 'split' her efforts sent Kagome into overdrive. "Ok! Fine! You've made your point!" Kagome agreed as she shrank under the covers.

Sango allowed herself a small smile of victory. Sango had already jogged this morning, and was still in her gray blue lycra tank top and black shorts. Her black shorts reminded Kagome of the black Lincoln Navigator that chased her off of a cliff… "Good, now hurry up Kags. I'll go make pancakes to celebrate."

"Oh great!" Kagome said in another merry tone…that was strained. Sango had misinterpreted Kagome's 'Oh great,' as in eagerness and excitement, but Kagome had intended it to be as an 'Oh great,' of sarcastic anticipation of having to get out of bed.

Just as Sango was cooking the first pancake, she heard a loud noise. She raised her eyebrows, and went to the bedroom. "Kagome?" Sango poked her head into the room. Kagome's bed was empty.

"Down here," came a muffled squeak.

Startled Sango glanced down. "What are you doing?" she asked Kagome slowly.

"Getting out of bed."

* * *

"I don't understand logarithmic differentiation." Kagome whined hopelessly. 

"Don't worry Kagome, I'll show you when we get home." Sango comforted Kagome as she finished the first set of tonight's Calculus homework.

"That's the problem," Kagome said with a groan as her head dropped to her desk with a loud 'thud.' Kagome winced, not from her head hitting the desk, but how her body had moved to accommodate her dropping her head on the desk. Her body was sore all over, and the fact that she had to resort to 'rolling' out of bed as opposed to actually 'getting' out of bed hadn't helped. It had been an unusual morning too…she had actually been awake when Sango came in to wake her up. Sango woke her up twice every morning. An hour and a half before school started to give her warning, and then only 30 minutes after that to actually drag her out of bed.

"I told you to take an aspirin this morning." Sango reminded her with a shake of her head. Her dark dark brown high swept ponytail swayed.

"You know how much I hate swallowing pills though!" Kagome retorted. It was sort of embarrassing for her to admit, but it was true. A few years ago, Kagome had just about choked because she had swallowed one of her daily vitamin tablets the 'wrong' way. That was enough to make her wary of pills now. She gave a mental shudder at the thought.

"You have to get over this irrational fear of swallowing pills sooner or later." Sango told her as she punched something into her calculator.

"Yeah right! Do you even _know_ what it feels like to be choking and vomiting at the same time? It was gross! And painful…and scary…and…"

"Miss Higurashi!"

"YES SIR!" Kagome said loudly out of surprise.

Her professor peered at her from over the rims of his spectacles. "I'm honored that you want to call me 'sir,' but Mr. Daisuke will be sufficient. Now Kagome, please explain how you got the answer for #47." Kagome's face blanched as she looked at her crinkled up piece of paper that she should have been working on. She had only gotten so far as to write 'Kagome Higur.' She felt like a loser…she hadn't even been able to focus long enough to finish writing her name…but she was sore, and she hurt all over…she just wanted to lie down on the floor…

"Well…" Kagome began rubbing the back of her head.

Three hard raps on a door brought everyone's attention to the classroom entrance. Kagome almost threw herself to the ground to praise Kami. She was saved! At least for a little while. She heard excited whispers as she frantically copied Sango's paper to see how she had done #47.

"Wasn't he #1 on Cliché's list of hottest men in the world?"

"Doesn't he own a huge company?"

"I don't think he's _that_ hot."

"Dude, isn't he like one of the richest dudes in the world?"

"Is he wearing Prada?"

"I wonder what hair products he uses."

Kagome was starting to worry. Magazines…companies…rich…Prada…and hair… "Hey Kagome, I'd _gladly_ trade spots with you." Sango said.

"What?" Kagome asked confused as she gave Sango her paper back.

"Sesshomaru has got to be the most handsome man in the world."

"Besides Mir-" Kagome began to joke. She stopped mid-sentence. "Who?" she asked her friend.

"_Miss_ Higurashi, please pack your things." came Mr. Daisuke's voice.

"I didn't do anything!" Kagome protested a little too quickly to sound 'innocent' as she dropped her pencil.

"Tell that to the jury," her teacher replied dryly, earning a few snickers. "Now hurry up. You can get tonight's homework assignment from someone else. Hurry up now! You're taking away from everyone's valuable education time."

Kagome groaned. Maybe he had seen her cheat off of Sango's paper or something…but it really wasn't cheating, it was merely _checking_ answers. She picked her up her pencil with a wince and stuffed her things into her bag. "Later!" she told Sango her voice sounding much too perky to be how she really felt. She stiffly walked out of the room. She felt like a Barbie…not the 'Gymnastics-I-can-do-the-splits-and-move-my-joints' sort of Barbie though…more like the Barbie's that could only move their legs forward and backward. She was heading down to the Dean of Students' office, but froze when she heard a voice that she could definitely have done alright without hearing.

"Where are you going?"

She turned around slowly…but then again, it wasn't like she could have turned around quickly. Her eyes widened in horror, and her jaw went slack. "Y-y-you! W-w-what are y-you do-doing here?" she stammered.

"I have come to retrieve you."

"You're stalking me!"

"Not even the mentally ill would wish to stalk you."

"You…you probably even know where I live!"

"You work for me."

"Stay away from me! I'm warning you!" Kagome shrieked.

"You are vexing me."

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" With that she ran down the hallway. She ran like she had never before. Her sore body was forgotten, her back pack had been dropped…She ran past classrooms…what was she doing? She'd be safest in a classroom. She dashed into the nearest classroom, and pressed herself against the wall. Her chest heaved up and down, she then realized everyone's eyes were on her. "Hi…" she said weakly.

"May I help you?" the teacher inquired as she stopped writing on the chalkboard.

"No…I'm just visiting…" Kagome then felt something wrap itself around her waist. Next thing she knew, she was picked up, and tossed over someone's shoulder. She heard people laugh. "Put me down!" Kagome yelled as she beat at which was undoubtedly Sesshomaru's back.

"Stop moving or else I will drop you." Sesshomaru commanded.

"No! Put me down you stalker! Now! I'll call the police!" Kagome threatened shrilly.

Sesshomaru turned to the teacher, and nodded his head respectfully. "Excuse my sister. She forgot to take her medicine this morning."

* * *

He had been sleeping as usual. He always slept in Modern Japanese History. It was either that, watch Miroku flirt or actually pay attention…sleep was the most appealing of the three. He heard the class's general volume go up and ignored it, but soon it got to the point where it was impossible to ignore whatever was going on. Annoyed, he opened his eyes. He could hear one voice over all of the rest…a girl's voice…it sounded familiar. He rubbed his eyes. Was that…Kagome? 

He sat up in his seat and blinked. What was she doing? She was over some guy's shoulder and was flailing wildly. The guy looked familiar too. He felt Miroku poke him. "What?" he growled.

"What's Kagome doing with Sesshomaru Arishima?" Miroku asked between bursts of laughter.

_Sesshomaru Arishima_…of course, he was one of those guys that every other guy wanted to be. He was famous, rich, hot and all the above. "**What**!" Inuyasha repeated, but louder.

"I said-" Miroku began.

"What the fuck!" Inuyasha said again. "What's going on!"

"She's your girlfriend Inuyasha, that's why I was asking you." Miroku explained.

"She's _not_ my girlfriend." Inuyasha informed Miroku.

"No wonder you were going heavy on the sake and ramen." Miroku commented. "I bet that the lovely Sango would know." Miroku added dreamily as Kagome and Sesshomaru left, her screams still audible.

"Yeah…I bet…" Inuyasha grumbled as he slouched in his seat. What the hell? Kagome was still supposed to be weeping and heartbroken over their break up…yet it seemed like she had gotten herself a new boyfriend. A rich, famous and good-looking one. A snarl escaped from his lips as he tried to fall asleep, but it was hard to as the jealousy consumed him.

* * *

"First you come and kidnap me from my class, then tell everyone I'm crazy, and now you're going to make me do _this_!" 

"I expect a professional job."

"Would you please define professional?" Kagome retorted.

"The opposite of you." With that, Sesshomaru went into the adjoining room, and closed the door that separated the two rooms behind him.

She stuck her tongue out at his retreating back, and plopped down into the chair. Those wheelie chairs weren't made for people to 'plop' down onto, they were made for secretaries who would _daintily_ seat themselves onto them. Kagome wasn't a secretary, and she wasn't 'dainty.' Landing on the edge of the chair only pushed it away…from her. She landed hard on the ground, and almost bit her own tongue off. As she tried to figure out how to get up without causing herself too much pain, Sesshomaru's voice came from the phone.

"I would suggest you not stick your tongue out at other people again unless you wish to become a mute for the rest of your life." he told her.

Kagome scrambled up from the ground, and looked at the phone, obviously perplexed as to how Sesshomaru could talk to her even though neither one had called the other. "I bet you'd like that wouldn't you?" she muttered as she wheeled her chair back to the desk.

"I would." he replied. Kagome picked up the phone, and then put it back down into its cradle, then picked it back up, and put it back down into its cradle several times….just to make sure he was disconnected now. But to be on the safe side, she left the phone off the hook. She then wondered what would happen if she pressed that red shiny button…it looked appealing, but then she saw that it was only the 'Hold' button…it said 'Hold' in contrasting white letters against the black phone. "Do not break the phone, I would greatly dislike having to see you after this month."

"What! I hung up on you!" Kagome exclaimed.

"You are an incompetent secretary. I told you not to worry about the phone. Just get to work."

"How can I when _your_ voice is coming out of it? It's creepy!" Kagome replied as she picked up her first white invitation with silver lacing around the edges.

"You should not notice it. You should be focusing." Sesshomaru growled.

"It's easier said than actually done ya' know." Kagome said as she sealed the first envelope.

"You will get more done if you talk less."

"And why would I want to do that?" Kagome shot back as she put another invitation into its matching envelope.

"It would be a pity if you would have to stay longer than the usual seven hours."

"Just to let you know, I'm not going to stay here for longer than seven hours. I'll go crazy if I spend too much time near you!" Kagome exclaimed.

"According to the contract you signed you have to."

Kagome's eyes bugged out. "That wasn't on the contract!" she protested.

"How would you know? You didn't even read it." Sesshomaru countered smoothly.

"I did too!" Kagome continued as she began to drum her fingers on the desk.

"That was why you managed to read twenty plus pages in less than five minutes. Impressive." Sesshomaru remarked rather snidely.

"_You're_ having a party?" Kagome interrupted gleefully as she read the silver script on one of the invitations. She elapsed into a fit of giggles.

"It is _not_ a party. It is a reception." Sesshomaru scowled.

"Oooh…formal dress…" Kagome added as she continued reading the invitation. As she began paying closer attention to the addressees on the envelopes she began to wonder what formal dress for Sesshomaru was. Maybe instead of the usual 100 silk shirts, it would 100 cashmere and instead of Prada it would be like Armani, Burberry or Oscar Guyonarachi or some weird name like that. She always did wonder how people came up with names for their clothing lines…and how did they become famous? She was working at a fairly decent pace now. Even though the previous stacks of envelopes, invitations and seals had been rather daunting, she had to admit that it wasn't _too _bad. Waaaaay better than washing seven cars. Kagome shuddered at the mere thought.

Besides, all she had to do was stuff the envelope, and then seal it with a special silver sticker that had fancy 'S.A' on it. She could only guess who it stood for. They were really pretty stickers to be honest…so pretty that she couldn't help but stick one onto her pastel yellow long sleeved shirt. It had a single pocket in the front with a single small pink flower embroidered onto it. But now it wasn't so lonely anymore with a shiny sticker next to it. Then the phone rang.

* * *

Sesshomaru was reviewing several contracts that had been submitted to him by smaller companies hoping for a merge or some funding. He had forgotten all about Kagome, and was concentrated 110 on digging up some background information on several of the people on the board for one of the companies…when he heard a yelp and a thud. He watched as the water in his glass vibrated. "That insolent girl…" he growled under his breath as he stood up from his black leather chair. With a look of obvious disgruntlement on his face, he walked down the terrace-like steps that led up to his desk, and to the door. He opened it. Where had that girl gone to? Especially when the phone was ringing like that. 

He walked across the room, heading for the other door that led out into the hallway, intent on finding Kagome, and then bringing her back, and then keeping her in one spot by tying her down when he heard what sounded like a dying cow. Raising one of his eyebrows just slightly, he turned around, and strode over to the desk. He looked down, and saw nothing but a mass pile of stuffed envelopes, invitations, empty envelopes and sheets of his special stickers on the ground. He was about to leave the room, even more determined to find the little wench when he heard the same moan again. He retraced his steps back to the heap, and saw a single tress of black hair sticking out from all the silver and white.

He looked on with distaste, and walked over behind the desk. He then gracefully bent down, and yanked on the single tress of hair. Almost automatically Kagome burst from the heap. "Ow! That hurts!" she cried out as she rubbed furiously at her scalp.

"It was a cow after all," Sesshomaru remarked airily as he straightened up.

"Yeah, that's right. You get me inste- You just called me a cow!"

"Not only do you sound like one, your intelligence level is about the same." He added.

"At least I don't look like one," Kagome shot back as she carefully untangled an invitation from her hair.

Sesshomaru slowly turned around. Kagome gulped…she had to stop saying those sort of things…either that or she could keep saying them, but then she'd have to face the consequences…the first sounded better. She braced herself for whatever was to come. "Answer the phone," he snapped.

"Yeah, yeah," Kagome grumbled as she reached up. Her fingers felt around the desk until they grabbed the phone. Her fingers hurriedly picked it up. "Hello?"

"About time. This is the third time I've called. Who's this?" demanded the other person.

Kagome glared at the phone. "This is his unwilling secretary for the day. Who are you?"

"This is his fiancé."

Kagome almost fell again…but she couldn't…because she was already on the ground. So instead she nearly choked. "Ex_cuse_ me?"

"I'm warning you, you stay away from him or else there'll be hell to pay."

Kagome snorted. "You can have him! And I don't mean any offense…I'm just curious, but how to manage to even tolerate Mr. Arrogant?" Kagome paused as she realized what she had just said, "I mean…Mr._Arishima_." she hurriedly corrected.

The woman at the other end laughed. "Don't even bother. I agree with you. If you ask me, I think Sesshomaru was born with an icicle up his ass."

Kagome laughed as well. "Then why are you going to marry him?" she asked.

"Are you _shitting_ me? I've got more brains than that. I actually feel sorry for his future wife. Besides, I'm just his cousin, Kagura, what's your name?"

"My name's Kagome. I can't believe you're related to him!"

"Yeah, me either. What the hell are you doing working for a stiff like him?"

"I have to. I made two dents in his car." Kagome made a weird face at the phone as she heard choking from the other end.

"Which one?" Kagura asked as soon as she cleared her throat.

"His Cadillac…" Kagome replied slowly.

"You're not dead yet?"

"Um…no…" Kagome said as she poked herself in the arm…just to make sure.

"Holy crap. So are you his slave for life now?"

"No way! I don't think that I would live for long then. I only have to work for him for 25 days…well, 24 including today, for 7 hours a day. And he's such a creep sometimes. Like today, he kidnapped me from my class, and then told everyone I was on medication."

"That sounds like Sesshomaru."

"If my grades fall, I'm doomed!"

"You know, Sesshomaru's a genius."

"An evil one…" Kagome muttered.

"No, I'm serious." Kagura insisted. "He was always the smartest and at the top of the class. That's why he graduated from high school at the age of 16."

"16!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Yeah. And he became a CEO at the age of 25."

"That's great and all, but I don't think I could survive being tutored by Mr. Arrogant."

"Say I think I'm going to drop by sometime ne-"

….

Kagome looked at the phone. Did Kagura hang up on her? She knew for a fact that _she_ hadn't hung up on Kagura…and why would Kagura hang up in a middle of her own sentence anyways? That would mean… A dark shadow fell over her… "Hi…Mr. Arishima…" Kagome said nervously.

"Not only will you be finished with this by 2:30 pm, but if I hear you call me anything else _but_ Mr. Arishima or Sesshomaru-sama, there will be much to regret. And do not make 'small talk' with anyone who calls for me. _Especially _not my cousin. Understood Cow-go-me?"

Kagome sat there confused. Was it possible? Was she asleep? …Had Sesshomaru just made a joke? She toppled over, and disappeared under the mass of what were once parts of trees.

She soon lost all sense of time, and next thing she knew she had finished stuffing the last envelope…and with two minutes to spare! She was good. She could probably even be a _real _secretary now. She dramatically wiped her brow, and straightened one of the stacks of now stuffed envelopes…all ready to be mailed now. She had just taken a breath when Sesshomaru entered the room a briefcase in hand, and a laptop tucked underneath one arm. "Get the box by the desk."

Kagome looked at him in disbelief.

"Now."

She groaned, and shuffled into his office. She found herself frozen the moment she walked through the door. She was struck speechless. His office was huge…with beautiful dark blue marbled flooring, dark blue walls and solid white bordering. The far side of the room In the center of the room there was a small lily pond…underneath the glass floor. Her eyes looked up the terrace-like steps that led to what was obviously his desk with bookcases lined against the wall. "Desk?" she grumbled her breath as she walked up the steps, "More like a throne…a throne for _Emperor_ Sesshomaru."

She nearly choked as she tried to lift the box next to his 'throne.' "Sheesh! No wonder he wanted _me_ to carry it. What's in here anyways?" Kagome peeked into the box. It was full of…paper? Kagome should have known better than to do anything but watch where she was going…especially when going down steps. There was no step where Kagome had thought there was…there was nothing there…and the next step was two inches down… She let out an 'ack' and fell forward. But she never actually fell to the ground…it was more like she fell 'into' Sesshomaru. "Ow…" she muttered as she hit her head against his chest. She looked up at Sesshomaru, "What was that for?"

Sesshomaru merely looked at her.

And Kagome looked back up at him defiantly.

His amber eyes took on a rather piercing edge.

Kagome's dark brown eyes took on a rather fiery one.

And the staring contest began.

…

Kagome lost after a few seconds.

Yet Sesshomaru continued to stare down at her.

"Will you stop it?" Kagome grumbled. "It makes me feel uncomfortable when you look at me like that."

"I stopped you from falling."

"No you didn't. You just gave me a headache." Kagome protested, the box of papers still leaning against Sesshomaru's stomach.

Without warning, Sesshomaru stepped to the side, and Kagome lurched forward again. Sesshomaru took the box from her hands as she fell…and she hit the ground this time. And she blacked out.

* * *

_Kagome strolled out of the house and climbed into her Aston Martin. She buckled her seatbelt, and drove out of the driveway and headed for the market. When she got there, she parked, turned off the ignition, and tried to unbuckle her seatbelt. But it wouldn't unbuckle. She banged at the red 'push' button, but it wouldn't 'push.' All of the sudden, the car roared to life. Kagome looked on in disbelief…she had the key in her hand, what was going on? The car sped out of the parking lot, the steering wheel turning on its own accord, and the seatbelt kept getting tighter and tighter. It headed straight for an oncoming semi…._

Kagome woke up a start. She was _still_ having bad dreams about Sesshomaru's cars. Maybe she could sue him for damaging her mental state or something…no, that would mean she was a psycho… Her head hurt like hell. Instinctively, she raised a hand to her throbbing forehead, but found something cold and lumpy on there…a pack of ice… And she was moving…she opened her eyes…she was in…a car…

"How is your head?"

Kagome turned her head, and saw Sesshomaru in the seat next to her, driving. "Um, it hurts a little bit, but I don't think it's anything life threatening," she said honestly. "It feels like I have a bruise or something…hopefully there wasn't any internal damage," she added.

"You have no need to worry. There was nothing to damage in the first place." Sesshomaru assured her.

"I can't believe you're making fun of a handicapped person," Kagome commented as she pressed the cool pack of ice to her forehead.

"I do not ridicule you. I merely tell you the truth."

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you Sesshomaru. Where are we going anyways?" Kagome asked.

"To my office."

"What!" Kagome glanced at her watch. It was only 3:45 pm…that would mean she had only been out for about an hour. She sighed, she should've known better…she should've just stayed 'asleep,' and while 'asleep,' she should've taken in her surroundings and situation…

"Your day is not over, and I have much to do. You will also be attending a short training seminar." Sesshomaru informed her.

"A _training_ seminar? For what?" Kagome asked.

"You lack secretarial skills."

"I know that. It's not like I have ambitions to be one anyways. So why do I need to take a 'training' seminar?"

"I will not have an incompetent secretary at my conference today."

"Why me? Don't you have other secretaries? Back ups?"

"They are all busy preparing an annual data report."

"What's an annual data report?"

"You do not need to know."

"If I'm going to be a good secretary, it's probably a good thing for me to know." Kagome insisted.

"Can you write?" Sesshomaru asked as he slowed down as they entered an urban part of Tokyo.

"Do I look that stupid to you?" Kagome snapped.

"Can you read?"

"_Duh_."

"At least you are able to do something." Sesshomaru commented as he came to a stop at a red light.

"I can do a lot of things for your information." Kagome claimed.

"But none of them are useful." Sesshomaru told her.

Kagome scowled. He was so mean. "It's not like you can do anything 'useful'."

"I became a CEO-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You became a CEO at the age of 25. Big deal!"

"If you display any sort of improper behavior at the conference, do not expect me to treat you pleasantly for the next 23 days." Sesshomaru offered as a piece of advice…threat…warning…it all depended on whether you were an optimist, paranoid or a pessimist.

"It's not like you treat me 'pleasantly' anyways." Kagome duly noted, as she adjusted the pack of ice. "And how am I supposed to…why do I have to be at the conference too?"

"You will be typing up notes for me." Sesshomaru explained as they pulled into a parking lot. Kagome made a mental note of how he parked right in the front…of course, there was a special sign there that said, 'Reserved for Sesshomaru Arishima.'

Kagome didn't say anything. Typing up a few notes…that didn't seem too bad. The passenger side door opened, and she squinted as the sunlight blinded her. Someone, obviously not Sesshomaru, helped her out. She wobbled slightly, but stayed upright. She reluctantly followed Sesshomaru into the tall…seemingly all glass building. As they went into the elevator, Kagome felt rather calm and relaxed. What could go wrong anyways?

* * *

"As you can see here, when using this approach to appeal to our target audience, we had a 20 higher success rate than using _this_ approach. Yet the third approach had an average success rate of the other two approaches, and it was the most money-efficient of the three methods. Based on this research, we are proposing a combined approach using the-" 

Kagome lightly nudged Sesshomaru. She glanced at him as she crouched behind the laptop. He hadn't noticed. "Umm…Sesshomaru…" she whispered. Still nothing. "Mr. Arishima?" she hissed. Sesshomaru glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. She pointed to the laptop, then in capital letters she typed: I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her, a look of horror, indifference and disgust on his face.

Kagome huffed lightly, and continued typing: BECAUSE THESE NYLONS ARE REALLY ITCHY. I CAN'T STAY STILL FOR MUCH LONGER!

Sesshomaru looked at the computer screen for a second before he resumed listening to the man at the front of the dark room. He really didn't understand…did he? She glared at him as she shifted around in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position, or at least a position that would ease the pain of these nylons giving her a wedgie… She couldn't believe him! He had actually forced her into wearing some weird business suit thing that given a _choice_, she never would have worn. Wasn't it illegal to make someone do something against their own will? The least he could have done was make it the kind with the dressy pants, but no, he said that she had to wear the one with the skirt. The skirt was too big around the waist, and the blouse felt tight. And those secretaries of his…dead, lifeless creatures. Doing whatever Master Sesshomaru told them to do…two of them had pinned her down, and another had begun to undress her until Kagome finally agreed to dress herself. The training was boring, and she had drunk way too much Coke.

Five minutes later Kagome nudged Sesshomaru again

He glared at her.

I HAVE TO GO THE BATHROOM.

Finally he scribbled something down onto one of the sheets of paper he had in front of him. _If you end up taking insufficient notes, there will be consequences._

Kagome typed furiously and rather loudly, earning a few 'throat clearings' and coughs from other council members in the room. YEAH, IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO TO THE BATHROOM, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES…BAD ONES. I NEED TO GO!

_You are worse than Rin. Hold it._

I CAN'T…I DRANK A LOT OF COKE.

_That is your problem, and not mine._

IT'S GOING TO BE YOUR PROBLEM! PLEASE SESSHOMARU-SAMA!

_It is too late for you to be trying to earn favors. Are you taking notes?_

YES.

_I despise liars._

I DESPISE JERKS TOO.

_Be quiet._

I AM BEING QUIET!

_You keep moving. Stop it._

I'M DOING 'THE DANCE.'

_Even Rin does not do 'the dance.'_

I'M NOT RIN AM I?

_It does not hurt my eyes to look at Rin._

THAT WAS LOW.

_It is called: the truth._

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE PICKING ON HANDICAPPED PEOPLE.

_Yes. I should not ridicule the mentally disabled. _

Kagome glared at Sesshomaru before looking up at the front of the room. There he went again with the 'mentally ill' thing. He needed some new material, seriously. You could only use the same insult twice at most…and the next time he used it, she would have to inform him of that because he was obviously unaware. The slide changed again, showing some survey results on the white projector screen…she was lost, but nevertheless began to type down 'key points,' or at least what _she_ deemed as 'key points.' She typed noisily as to get back at Sesshomaru, and appeared to be extremely focused and concentrated on her task. When Sesshomaru and others looked at her she looked at them innocently, and smiled. She wasn't doing anything wrong…she was just doing what **her** Sesshomaru-**sama** wanted her to do.

But there always came a time when enough was enough. Twenty minutes later, it was quite enough for Kagome. She was going to use the bathroom…she _had_ to use the bathroom… Usually she wouldn't do anything drastic, but right now…she had to. The urgency of the situation called for drastic measures to be taken. She timidly looked around the room. All of the men and their secretaries around the vast mahogany banquet like table were all absorbed in the slides being shown, and the long winding explanations the man at the front of the dark room was giving. She slowly began to slump in her seat, and she quietly and gradually began to slide down. She soon slipped underneath the table, and began crawling away to freedom on her hands and knees, but something stood between the open doorway that shed light and her. Legs.

She muttered her breath, and reluctantly crawled back to her chair. She slowly and silently pulled herself back up onto her seat, and nervously looked around. No one had seemed to notice her absence, she glanced at Sesshomaru who had a look of indifference etched on his face. She wondered what he was thinking about when she saw his pen. He apparently had quite a few of those silver pens with his initials on them. It was then she came up with the idea… She grabbed the pen, and dropped it to the ground. Sesshomaru turned around, and glared at her. "Get my pen." He commanded.

The man at the front of the room stopped talking, and everyone else turned their attention to Sesshomaru…almost mechanically. "Of course…Mr. Arishima…" Kagome said, overly pleasantly. She slowly sank down to the ground on her hands and knees, and was about to get the pen when it was accidentally knocked forward by her hand. "Sorry…" Kagome called as she crawled farther away, towards the pen. She then grabbed the pen, and threw it. It flew past in between another man's legs, and out into the doorway. She began moving aside people's legs as she crawled out from under the table. "Excuse me, just trying to get my boss's pen…I'm sorry! Don't mind me!" She told everyone enthusiastically. When she came to the doorway, her foot accidentally kicked it down the hallway. "Be right back." She said loudly as she raced down the hallway, forgetting about the pen, and focused completely on the bathrooms at the end of the hall.

She came out of the bathroom stall, feeling much better and relieved. She had taken her nylons off, and chucked them into the trashcan. She washed her hands, dried them with a paper towel, and glanced at her watch. It was only 5:55 pm. She groaned, and exited the bathroom only to walk right into…Sesshomaru. "Talk about deja vu." Kagome said. "I've definitely been in this position before."

"I suppose the pen rolled into the bathroom?"

"Oh yeah. It kept moving…it wouldn't stop…it was kinda weird…" Kagome said nervously as she looked around the hallway…there was no one else around. The bright lights that illuminated the hallway seemed too bright… She was alone…with…_Sesshomaru_. "You know what? It's in the bathroom still…I'll go and get it…" Kagome added slowly. But she never did get to go 'retrieve' the pen in the bathroom. Sesshomaru grabbed her by the wrist, and led her down the hallway. Kagome began freaking out. Although she did prefer walking on her own two feet to being thrown over someone's shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes, this wasn't really walking per say, more like _dragging_. "I'm sorry!" Kagome yelled as she tried to pry his hand from her wrist.

Half an hour later, Kagome was seen being dragged across the street to a restaurant called Medici's Terrace. "You could have told me that we were just going out to eat ya know," Kagome said as she straightened the sleeves of her business suit.

"I am not feeding you because I wish to." Sesshomaru told her coldly as they were seated.

"Come on! Admit it. You've taken a liking to me, haven't you?" Kagome said cheerfully as she gave Sesshomaru a beauteous grin.

"Where do you get such foolish notions?" he asked her as he placed his white cloth napkin on his lap.

"You mean my brilliant theories?" Kagome corrected, "From here," she said as she tapped her head. "Contrary to popular belief Sesshomaru, I'm actually really smart."

"You fooled me."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, I don't understand why I let you get to me. You're such a jerk sometimes, and usually I can ignore jerks, but you just get under my skin…" She paused to take a sip from her glass of water. "But you know, there are times when you seem human. Like right now. Taking me out to dinner. I didn't know that you had such compassion."

"After all I have made you endure, you somehow have come to the conclusion that I am merely hiding my true feelings for you?"

"Yeah." Kagome chirped as if the answer were obvious.

* * *

"Thanks a lot Sesshomaru! See you tomorrow!" Kagome called over her shoulder as she began to climb out of his Aston Martin. She closed the door behind her, only to then knock on the window. Sesshomaru reluctantly rolled it down, knowing what happened the last time he rolled down a car window for her. Perhaps this time she would spill whatever was in her takeout box into his car. "By the way Sesshomaru, thanks for taking care of me after I…uh…passed out." Kagome said sheepishly. 

"It only made sense," he told her in his usual icy tone, "For I was the one who made you fall." With that the window rolled up in Kagome's face who stood there looking stunned.

"You what!" Kagome yelled as he drove away. "You pig!" She then launched her box of left over steak at the car, but she missed. "I hate you!" she shouted. "And you better not step a foot on Tokyo University Campus!" she screamed before someone from the apartment complex stuck their head out the window to yell at her.

Sesshomaru watched Kagome from his rearview mirror. She had missed…lucky for her. He had no qualms about making her wash his cars again. She had done a surprisingly good job. As he merged onto the freeway towards his own home, he recalled the day's events. That girl needed to be disciplined…he still couldn't believe that she had been desperate enough to crawl underneath the table and pretend to go after his pen because she needed to go the bathroom. The edges of his eyes crinkled just slightly as if he were smiling. She needed a few more training seminars taught by the professor himself…

_Next time: Sesshomaru's Sidekick._

* * *

**((A/N: **You guys are the BEST. Still not confident in this installment, but you guys made me feel good about the last one! Seriously, you guys are…I am speechless…you guys gave me more reviews than the first time! Like _twice _as many! You guys are just...I'm crying right now you guys…crying tears of joy! I LOVE YOU ALL! By the way, if it's even possible, I failed my SATs. 

**Explanation:** Here is why it takes me so long to update in addition to the usual tests, finals, school, extra curricular activities, SATs and etc, I always write up several different versions of a certain scene or something to pick out the best one out of all of them. So that way, I can deliver to guys the funniest and best…so _please_ understand! I really hjope I didn't let you guys down with this chapter…!

ALSO, I HAVE RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT I WAS NOMINATED FOR BEST AU FANFIC AND BEST ROMANCE/FLUFF/WAFF FANFIC ON A SINGLE SPARK…WHOEVER DID THAT…PLEASE TELL ME SO I MAY THANK YOU AND HONOR YOU PROPERLY!

**REVIEW! (Please and thank you! )**


	4. Day 3: Sesshomaru's Sidekick

**Disclaimer: **My claim to Inuyasha is as strong as my claim to being Prince William's fiancé…oh wait…they're nonexistent.

**Summary:** When her boyfriend and best friend, Inuyasha, dumps her for her cousin, college student Kagome ends up kicking a can in her fury. The little can accidentally damages the car of the rich businessman Sesshomaru. In order to pay him back she must spend 25 days basically as his slave! Sesshomaru could get his car fixed without even scratching his wallet, so is there something up his sleeve?

**A.N. **Also, I made it T just in case….seeing all these great authors get the work erased and etc…scared me!

Thanks for reviewing: **Celestial Fox, Ayjah, Kaichai, raine84, Minbong's babe, Angel Flame-Mary, neferseba, shinchansgirl, Foxykirby, Tamiri-chan, Mirei Nochi, ShindyNova, Unicorn'sWhisper, shatterdheart, Mori'quessir, Leunra, Morning-SunRize, SaturnNeko, renyun, Lady-Crymsyn, SilverPhoenix21, kari konoko, Sessys-matelove, hgf, Roses Petal, S T I L L, shakiya, Myztical Star, iLuvJaeWon, DarkNeko17, RuBiAx, chibi-koinu, Yanee, RED DAY, abc, Purotekuta-Shikon no Tama, Fantasies, animedorkette, PegasusRider, rocka, j.b Raven, moonlightassassin, marianne, honey-gurl808, Jade Catseye, Cute and Fluffy, Red Satin and Black Silk, azn-modern-miko, fluffy-sama's worshiper, death-resurrected, SweetyDream, ChaosKree8er, CrystallineLily (2x), cocovanilla, chibiNeko192, Ice-Spirit Phoenix, angelmaiden, Charms, Inuyasha5225, Spirit-Hunter, cloudiies, hmm, Golden-Eyed-Girl, Sangfroid, Reader not Reviewer, AKA Hummer, Massao-na-Mizu, Rhea9, Jazze Pha, shadows-insanity, ashley41791, Psycho-Playgirl, Mikazuki Tsuki, nEeLLoC kitsunelover25, fluffy li, Yujin-chan aka Neko Megami, inufairy77, NefariousAngel, Angel-Star-100, Gopher2806, lifelessemerald, chisaineko311, Kagamoesiun, Peach-Girl1, PurityFlower1989, Sintar, Krazee-Reader, MizzKizara, Chibi Horsewoman, Jessi Tsuki, Mistress Chocolate, ANGEL SANCUARY, Sesshomaru v.s Inuyasha, Blue-Grey Storm, Lady Kogawolf, Bubblesbb03, Purely Mistake, she who is nameless, Lady Psyche, teenagetomboy69, Arisa Sohma, YoukaiBaka, loverofSesshomaru, wanderingdragon, ya1ya, INUGIRL, Black Cello, vixenia, bringme2lyfe, rira-chan, mizushoubai, Lonewolf-chica, Sango the Lecher Slayer, Strawberry'd, StarsofMidn ight, Xx-Ash-xX, Eternalhappiness, InnocentDarkSassyCat, CrystalTearsoftheMoon, Jade the Fairyness, windgal, hellspixie18, xx hidden kitten xx, merls, Anbu Faia, chair-chan, Shanghai Honey, flutist726, tuffyluffy, Night Sins, mimblemimblesmirch, sabrinaw **and **smilygal.**

**Celestial Fox-** Tea parties? I would have thrown the pen out the window, and then jumped out after it! No _wonder_ you tried to imitate a phone ring…

**raine84-** Are Sesshomaru and Inuyasha related? Hmm…I dunno…I'll have to consult my muse about that, oh wait a second…wait a second…I don't have a muse! So I guess you'll just have to wait and see!

**Minbong's babe-** No, it really wasn't supposed to be…from the people who have seen it, the similarities apparently ended halfway through the first chapter. Glad you enjoyed.

**Angel Flame-Mary-** I update when the chapter satisfies me…I try not to take longer than two months-ish…Don't worry, I'll never quit on this story! Not with all the fans…all for the fans I tell you, all for the fans, hence why I gladly take the time to state everyone's names and reply to certain ones. Oh and don't worry…this will be romantic…somewhat…sooner or later…

**Foxykirby-** I made you cry? No…_you're_ making me cry.

**Mirei Nochi-** Thank you and thank you! You liked all the crucial parts! I have such smart reviewers! Yes…what will become of Inuyasha and Kagome? And of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha…hmmm…. I'm glad you found it all funny! I live to make others laugh.

**ShindyNova-** Yes…that is the reason for their celebration. By the way…I love your fic, 'Can't Buy My Love.'

**Mori'quessir-** I like the whole 'Cow-go-me' thing too.

**Leunra-** Thank you. I totally know what commercial you're talking about!

**Roses Petal-** I'm sorry too… _No…_ thank YOU for being such an awesome and faithful reviewer! Yeah…Sesshomaru is…isn't he? Ah, thank you, I've always liked Kagura, just not as Sesshomaru's lover or something like that…that spot is totally for Kagome. Rin and Kagome will work wonders on him I'm sure!

**Dark Neko17-** Is that another way of telling me that I need to update faster?

**RuBiAx-** Thank you for your good wishes for this fic. In all honesty, I don't think it's going to win any of the categories…it's up against some of _my_ favorite fics!

**Purotekuta-Shikon no Tama- **I have to say your review was one of the nicest and perhaps one of my most favorite of all the reviews I have ever gotten. I personally can't comprehend why people like it so much. I'm glad you think that all of the characters are in character…the whole best for last thing made my face pretty much split in half from this big smile…and best humor/romance fic in history? You are too cool to be real!

**Fantasies-** And I was worried that this chapter was going to be the _least _funniest. And a million thank you's!

**j.b Raven-** I have to agree…unfortunately, Sesshomaru is too… 'unearthly' to get wedgies…dang…

**marianne- **Thank you so much! Don't worry, I will never abandon y'all.

**honey-gurl808-** I'm glad you liked the phone call conversation with Kagura.

**Cute and Fluffy- **Your review meant a lot to me considering that you 'hate' Sess/Kago pairing…perhaps you will keep reading and become a convert? Glad you liked all those 'one-liners.' Yes! Yes! I hate 'perfect' Kagomes too… I liked your long review, so no problems there…and yeah, when I look at my review count…I still have to put on my glasses…just to make sure.

**Red Satin and Black Silk-** Questions, questions…patience grasshopper…

**ChaosKree8er- **00

**CrystallineLily-** Oops…in the middle of class? I got to put another disclaimer here making all lawsuits concerning students getting in trouble because they got overexcited about this fic being updated VOID! Hmph, you obviously need new friends, friends who are smart and know that Kagome and Sesshomaru belong together. And corrupting them? No! You are _helping_ them see the light. There is a difference; corruption would be like making them Miroku/Kagome or Sesshomaru/Kagura pairing fans…that would be not only corruption but an unforgivable sin! Two reviews from you! Must be my lucky day! (No sarcasm, seriously!) Cow-go-me…yeah, perhaps in the next chapter Sesshomaru will turn Kagome into another Jakken…oops…shouldn't have said that out loud. Believe me, I failed my SATs...

**chibiNeko192- **Heh, heh. Yes, I did some of my research for Sesshomaru's wardrobe by reading YM Magazine…I'm so efficient! Lol. Oh the dying cow thing…yes…I actually had a different version of that scene…but the whole 'cow' and 'Cow-go-me' thing occurred to me afterwards, so I went back and modified everything for that. Kagura… doesn't like those girls who work for Sesshomaru who convince themselves that they're 'with' him you know…so yeah. Thank you and Congratulations on your incredible luck! 100 on a MATH MIDTERM! Please let some of your luck rub off on me! The only Kagome/Sesshomaru fanfic that you have ever read and really enjoyed eh? I am honored, I really, truly am.

**Sangfroid-** I know…it sucks when your fic is nominated for Best AU and Best Romance/Fluff... -- You voted for me! Thank you so much! Oh yeah, how come the 'percent' marks showed up in your review, but not in my fic? I know that everyone in the world is plotting and conspiring against me… Ooh, you were the only one who got the 'Cliché' thing, congratulations! Thank you, I try hard to keep Sango in character, a lot of stories I notice that they may keep the 'main characters' in character, but they sort of make the other characters OOC. Ah right, you go ahead and do that Mabelle.

**Reader not Reviewer-** Last time I checked I accept anonymous reviews…definitely just you.

**AKA Hummer-** Hey now, Kagome's not clumsy…or erm, 'fluffy' in the head…she's just…not ballerina-esque…and yeah, Sesshomaru _is_ great. -- You better be telling the truth or else I will somehow find out whatever was said…and punish you accordingly. Eh…I don't think I was nominated for Humor/Parody though…hopefully you voted for me in the other categories though? Just A Starving Writer is one of my favorite authors!

**Massao-no-Mizu-** You're hooked eh? I wonder if I can take over the world via writing 'mesmerizing' fanfic…maybe I should give it a whirl… I'm so glad you like my fanfic, now go and kidnap Rumiko Takahashi for me…

**Jazze Pha- **Thank you (x infinity)!

**Psycho-PlayGirl-** How come everyone thinks that long reviews annoy me? I love them! Sure…they take a while to read, but if they're chockfull of compliments…I'm not complaining! Anyways, I can't wait for all those parts either.

**kitsunelover25- **Wow…I know what it's like to be sleep deprived, and I am very touched and honored that you would use that precious time to read my work…I'm tearing up…

**Yujin-chan aka Neko Megami- **You know it's funny how the 'plot' unfolds. I get weird and random inspirations and ideas at odd hours…so I wake up, and write them down.

**inufairy77- **You do! You are now my new 'publicist manager.' Like the fancy title? I can add some H.F (Huge Fan) thing too…H.F. Publicist Manager Inufairy77…

**chisaineko311- **I love it when people tell me I portray the characters' personalities well because I try really hard to do that. Personally I don't like it when the characters are OOC.

**Sintar-** On the note of OOC characters…except for yours! I think it's because you're a really good writer. Your fic is the _first_ fic I have ever read that has OOC characters yet written in so eloquently. Quite rare because usually OOC fics are written really really poorly…yours proved otherwise.

**Chibi Horsewoman-** You decided to read this story! Outback? Since when did Sesshomaru have an Outback? Yes…he is anal, very anal. Heh, heh, heh. I knew this would be a good way to take over the world. Get people to read my fanfics…and somehow brainwash them, and turn them into minions. See? It has begun its effects on you. I like it when people who usually don't like Sess/Kagome say they are starting to because of this fic… I don't think that Sesshomaru will ever really _not_ be 'Mr. Anal Retentive and Mr. Obsessive Compulsive.'

**Lady Kogawolf-** You really think I have a talent for comedy? Thanks.

**Bubblesbb03- **Ok…how do I break this to you…you _still_ have it wrong…I updated last in April…May 7 was the last time I updated my profile thing…Heh…Well…you've proven your point at least.

**she who is nameless- **Clearly the most creative and one of the most amusing reviews ever. Your review made me get up and off my butt, and start compiling together the following chapter. I can't think up a rhyming response….

**Black Cello- **Whoa…I do… faints

**Lonewolf-chica- **I would have to agree. Romantic Comedies are the best.

**Strawberry'd- **You noticed! I'm trying to make things realistic…I don't think Sesshomaru would be the sort to rush out and shower Kagome with gifts… I don't think anyone but Kouga would. I'm glad to caught onto the small and seemingly insignificant things that Sesshomaru does…I think that that's more of his style.

**Eternalhappiness- **Yes! Another one! I love it when Inuyasha/Kagome shippers read my fic and decide that they will make an exception. cheers You are awesome!

**merls- **Hopefully you feel special that I used your last name?

**chair-chan-** Thank you so much for review. It was honestly a really great review, and it made me smile…a lot. Let's just hope I do half as well on my SATs as I supposedly do on my writing!

**mimblesmimblesmirch-**Ah, you wish to write like me! I might swoon…if I was the swooning sort that is… Nooo, you did not sound like a teacher. I haven't had a teacher who's ever given me a compliment like that before!

* * *

**Day 3: Sesshomaru's Sidekick**

* * *

Kagome struggled to stay awake. Her eyelids felt heavy…as if quarters were taped to them. It was so hard to keep them open… She blinked as she tried to wake herself up, and stared down at the paper in front of her. She had not gotten enough sleep last night. Definitely not enough. If she had gotten enough sleep her vision wouldn't be blurring like it was right now… She was having difficulty making out whatever was on the paper in front of her. It was a quiz…of what she wasn't quite sure because when her left eye drooped closed, the black figures looked like numbers. But when her right eye drooped closed, the black figures looked like words.

She forced her eyes open and rubbed at them, but the haze did not disappear. She tried to remember what day it was. It was Tuesday…yes…Tuesday…that meant she only had two classes today…right? Kagome took five classes as a Senior at Tokyo University. For what she wanted to be, she really didn't need to take too many classes. She had dreams of becoming a novelist…a writer… Classes merely stifled her creativity. Sango on the other hand, in addition to all of her extra curricular activities took seven classes. Sango had more than enough credits for her _and_ Kagome to graduate.

Kagome tried to focus.

It wasn't working.

She finally decided that she was in her Japanese Literature Class. She idly looked around the classroom, as she struggled to keep her head up. If this was Japanese Literature…then why were there maps on the wall? Before she bombed this test due to sleepiness, she decided to get up and out of her desk. She stumbled over to the teacher's desk, the walking waking her up slightly. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out who the teacher was. A woman. Ah of course, it was Mrs. Akaoka. Then this meant that she was in her Modern Japanese History class.

"Mrs. Akaoka…may I please go to the restroom?" Kagome asked, her own voice sounding harsh, loud and distant to her own ears.

"In the middle of a quiz?"

"I…don't feel so…good." Kagome mumbled, unable to make a coherent sentence.

Mrs. Akaoka, a fairly young and recently married woman looked up from her desk to take a good look at Kagome. Being fashionable, her hair was dyed brown, a common trend in Japan nowadays. She had beautiful porcelain skin, and cheeks that were tinged a light pink. She was as kind as she was pretty. Mrs. Akaoka looked at Kagome. The poor girl looked like she was about to topple over from exhaustion, and after seeing her get hauled off yesterday by the one and only Sesshomaru Arishima, she was sure that Kagome had quite a handful on her hands. Besides, Kagome wasn't a troublemaker at all…at least not usually. There had been that one incident involving paper airplanes… "Go ahead," she told Kagome with a small smile.

Kagome thanked her teacher the best way a half-asleep-person could and began to exit the room. But Kagome being so tired had trouble distinguishing the shiny white Expo board from the open doorway. Kagome stood there for a few moments staring at the white Expo board, and then staring at the doorway. A look of concentration crossed her face, and was replaced with one of triumph as she finally chose the doorway. The class erupted into laughter as Kagome seemed oblivious. Mrs. Akaoka shook her head, and looked down at her desk as to hide her smile.

Kagome wasn't quite sure how she managed to find her way to the bathroom in the disoriented state she was in; she was glad that she did. "Thank Kami," she said as she made her way to a sink. Walking had helped her wake her up somewhat, not a lot, but her vision was clearer although her mind was still fogged up a bit. She looked into the mirror. She was a wreck. She was pretty sure she had dark circles under her eyes. She had been furious when she got inside the apartment last night, and even angrier when she realized that she had thrown a steak at Sesshomaru's car. She should have known better…she had horrible aim. Besides, that hadn't been just any steak, it had been a filet mignon…

After Sango calmed her down and convinced her that there were more tragic things than wasted steaks, she realized she had to catch up on Math and Science homework. Sango being the kind soul she was, had let Kagome copy the math homework after trying to explain the basic concepts to Kagome. Kagome had managed to understand half of the material and promised Sango she would work on it with her tomorrow. That was only because she had to get moving. She had had several chapters of Japanese History to read too. Unfortunately for her, Sango wasn't in that class.

Not only did Sango know everything about Japanese History, she was currently taking American history and American Literature. Sango spoke three languages as well: Japanese, English and Korean. Kagome couldn't even speak Japanese properly. She sighed at her reflection in the mirror and violently splashed her face with water. Water got all over the sink, floor, mirror…and herself. She blinked as she began to awaken. "Ugh…seven hours of sleep is not enough," she griped as she dabbed her face dry with a piece of paper towel.

Her vision cleared up considerably, and she was able to see herself more clearly. She almost wished she was still half blind. Her clothes were wet all over now. She wore a simple gray t-shirt and simple blue jeans. She had been too tired to dress any nicer. She ran her fingers through her hair to get rid of some of the frizziness, but it didn't help much. She made it out of the bathroom safely, and walked down the hallways of her University at a leisurely pace. She had all the time in the world...

Kagome came to a halt. Hadn't she been taking a quiz? She couldn't recall what it was about either. She groaned, and picked up her pace. She hurried to her classroom, and made a beeline to her desk. When she sat down she wished that she had considered just staying in the bathroom, 'sick.' _Discuss in about one paragraph one reason that Japan went from isolation to opening up to the Western World. _Kagome blinked. Maybe she should come back to that one later. She took a stab at some multiple-choice questions, and some fill-in-the-blanks, but she eventually had to come back to the one paragraph response.

She began to tug at a strand of her hair. Her anxiety level was rapidly increasing…as well as the strength of the pull she was putting on her hair. Frustrated she gave her hair a good hard yank and yelped. Everyone, including Mrs. Akaoka looked at her. She sheepishly and silently turned back to her paper, her mind and focus on anywhere and anything besides the 'short answer' question. 'A paragraph is _not _a short answer.' she reasoned. 'Short answer is more like one or two sentences or something like that.' As she silently debated within the confines of her mind the contradiction in labeling a paragraph answer as 'short answer,' she then realized that it was almost noon. Almost noon…then that meant…that Sesshomaru would come and save her! She didn't think it was possible to for her to be excited to see Sesshomaru the Arrogant Prick…_but_ it was. She then kicked back and relaxed in her seat, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Sesshomaru was the punctual kind of person, the kind of person who was never late so that would mean that he would come before she would have to turn in her quiz…darn.

She glanced at the clock again. It was noon now. She looked at the door. He should be coming in any second now…any second…any second…about….almost…now… Kagome glared at the empty doorway. Sesshomaru wasn't there like he was supposed to be. She looked at the clock again. It was a minute past noon. Maybe Sesshomaru had gotten a last minute phone call that he just **had** to pick up and answer. She forced herself to relax. He'd come. She was beginning to sweat now. It was five minutes past noon. 'He probably got stuck in traffic or something,' Kagome assured herself. 'Everyone gets stuck in traffic.' Although she did have a feeling that Sesshomaru considered himself above such petty situations. He probably called some helicopter service and they came and picked him up from wherever he was stuck in traffic.

He'd probably call for two helicopters.

She doubted that he would have the heart to leave his car behind.

Kagome began to bite her lip nervously. The bell was going to ring any second now, ending her hour long history class…and Sesshomaru _still_ wasn't here. The only valid explanation for his tardiness would have to be that he was lying dead on the side of the road somewhere. It was a somewhat comforting thought. If he was dead then she technically didn't owe him any more money, and you couldn't very well work for a dead guy. The bell rang. Kagome was going to cry. She hoped that Sesshomaru really was dead, and if he wasn't, he would sure as hell wish he were because if she ever saw his sorry hide ever again….he would…well, he would be sorry. She almost laughed at the thought of Sesshomaru being sorry… He had made her fail the history quiz that she had forgotten about and hadn't studied for.

He was a cruel and heartless man.

Most of the students had finished her 'quizzes,' by this time, and had left the classroom. Others quickly finished their thoughts, and turned theirs in…Kagome on the other hand….

"Kagome, please turn in your quiz." came Mrs. Akaoaka's voice.

"I'm almost done!" Kagome called back.

"You said that ten minutes ago Kagome. You're cutting into my break time. If you don't turn it in now, I'll have to mark you ten percent." Mrs. Akaoka warned.

"I know, I know." Kagome muttered. "Alright, I'm alm-" Kagome's pencil slipped, marking a dark line all the way down the rest of her quiz. "What the!" She knew she was clumsy, but she wasn't _that_ clumsy. Now her quiz was ruined…

"It is rude to disrespect your teachers," chided a reprimanding voice.

Kagome didn't want to look up as a dark shadow and her quiz loomed over her. She inhaled Sesshomaru's cologne. She could probably smell him from a mile away, when she wasn't busy. "Don't patronize me," Kagome snapped, trying to grab her paper from him, but he jerked it up a little higher, and just a little more out of her reach. "That's my quiz!" Kagome said loudly, obviously irritated. It didn't happen very often, as Kagome made sure she got enough sleep, but on rare occasions she could become very…unpleasant. Kagome got up and out of her seat, and jumped up for her test. She missed. "Stop moving it," Kagome commanded.

Mrs. Akaoka watched the scene before her. She wasn't sure whether to stop the madness or to laugh. Kagome reminded her of a cat, and Sesshomaru reminded her of someone mocking and tantalizing the cat with a fish. She settled back into her seat, this might take a while.

"I mean it!" Kagome shouted as she jumped up for her test again.

"Another empty threat?" Sesshomaru asked as he yanked it out of her reach…again.

"They are not empty!" she protested.

"Your head most certainly is." Sesshomaru said, his voice monotone and a bored expression on his face.

"Whatever, stop moving…did you just call me stupid?" Kagome demanded as she stopped mid-jump. She glared up at Sesshomaru, her hands on her hips.

"I said nothing of the sort." he insisted with indifference.

"Liar." Kagome said venomously, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I beg to differ. I am actually a man of integrity, dignity and-" Sesshomaru began.

"I don't care. Give me back my quiz!" Kagome interrupted.

"You are quite disrespectful. First you disobey your teacher, and now your interrupt me when I am speaking. Did you not learn to listen to your elders?"

"Of course I do!" Kagome snapped. "You better give me back my quiz, or else…"

"Make another dent in another one of my cars?" Sesshomaru suggested somberly, his eyes betraying not even the slightest hint of amusement, and his lips set in a thin and grim line.

"NO," Kagome said with a scowl. She then crossed her hands over her chest as a sly look lit her eyes. "You know, that reminds me. I thought you were a man of impeccable timing."

"I am a man of impeccable timing." Sesshomaru agreed.

"It's like twenty past noon!" Kagome pointed out.

"Yes well, I could not bear the thought of taking you away in the middle of a quiz." Sesshomaru explained. "That would be…quite rude of me."

Kagome was about to say that she had been counting on him to show up so that she wouldn't have to finish her quiz when she realized that Mrs. Akaoka was still there. "Well, I'd like my quiz back now." she said, trying to sound calm and composed.

Sesshomaru merely gave her a scrutinizing look.

"Fine, you can _have_ my quiz…old man." Kagome grumbled.

Sesshomaru looked murderous. "I am _not_ an old man…you child."

Kagome's jaw dropped open. Not because Sesshomaru had actually responded in such a manner, but because he had called her a child. "I am _not_ a child!" Kagome retorted. "I am a young woman." she sniffed.

"You could have fooled me," Sesshomaru said as he looked off in another direction.

Kagome glared up at him indignantly. "I'm 22! Hardly a child." She didn't even care about her quiz as it came fluttering down to her. Instead she smacked it aside, leaving Mrs. Akaoka to quietly come over to pick it up. Mrs. Akaoka then slipped out of the classroom. This…little quarrel wasn't going to end anytime soon. As Sesshomaru stood aloof, appearing to study one of the maps on the wall, Kagome red in the face glowered at him until she had a mental picture of him looking like Swiss cheese from all of the bullet holes. Then a rather evil smirk crossed her face as she casually strutted up to Sesshomaru. "Have you been to the store lately? I hear they give senior discounts."

* * *

"I told you I was sorry!"

"If you knew what was best for you, you would silence yourself." Sesshomaru

said sharply.

"It was a _joke_." Kagome pleaded.

"You have a poor sense of humor." Sesshomaru told her.

Kagome snorted. Talk about sense of humor…she may not be good at comedy, but at least she _had_ a sense of humor. She was about tell him that, but thought better of it. Because of her big mouth, they were headed to his office…_again_. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window.

"Remove your forehead from my window." Sesshomaru ordered her.

"Do you _have to_ make everything so darn unpleasant?" Kagome complained as she reluctantly sat back in her seat.

Sesshomaru didn't answer.

She took that as a 'yes.' She sighed loudly, at least he admitted it. She settled for looking out the window, although it was kind of hard to see due to his tinted windows. The silence was unbearable. Kagome looked around the car until her eyes spotted the car stereo. She silently read all of the buttons. 12 disc changer…Satellite Radio…he had definitely wasted a ton on money on this. She bet that he didn't even use it. Her hand slowly inched towards the stylish black button that said 'Power' on it with small white letters. Sesshomaru continued looking straight ahead, unaware of the impending danger… She pressed it, and quickly snapped her hand back as if to make it appear that the stereo had a mind of its own. Almost immediately the loud and blaring voice of a talk show host surrounded Kagome and Sesshomaru. "What the heck do you listen to?" Kagome asked disgustedly as she quickly pressed the FM/AM button.

Sesshomaru glared at her. "Turn it off."

"I mean seriously, you have a really nice stereo, and you don't even use it right." Kagome huffed. She then began fiddling with the Tuner until she found a station playing music that she liked. She started to hum along when all of the sudden the music stopped. Kagome looked at Sesshomaru, appalled. "That was AI!" she exclaimed.

"That was horrendous."

"You have _no_ taste in music." Kagome shot.

"I believe it is the other way around," Sesshomaru retorted casually, "While you listen to artists who have no talent, I listen to classical music, jazz-"

"BORING." Kagome interceded.

"You dare to interrupt me?" Sesshomaru asked giving her a cold and calculating look.

"No…" Kagome squeaked.

"I expect you to remain silent until we reach our destination."

Kagome nodded. She slumped in her seat and sighed loudly, earning her another frigid glare from the Ice Prince himself. She rolled her eyes, and stared at the insignia on the dashboard. He really thought too highly of himself. She thought of ways to hurt and wound his pride, but instead, fell asleep.

Sesshomaru sneaked a glance at Kagome. She appeared to be asleep. Actually, it was quite obvious as she emitted a light snoring sound as she slumbered. How undignified… She was an enigma to him. He had met women who threw themselves at him, women who hated him, women who couldn't care less about him, women who drooled over him, women who stole things from him, women who were convinced they were soul mates, women who were scared of him and then there was Kagome. She didn't fit into any of the categories. There were times when it was obvious that she loathed him and perhaps even his parents for conceiving him, and there were times when she treated him almost as if she liked him. There were even times where she seemed to be frightened of him, and times when it was apparent that she considered him to be mentally unstable. Sesshomaru was a genius, he really was, but when it came to Kagome…he was totally clueless.

He _hated_ not knowing things.

His life was routine. If anything was not perfect and even just slightly different from the usual then his mood always darkened and soured, and people who knew better than to let things be, scurried to right things. His schedule was almost always the same.

-He woke up promptly at 6 am every morning, took a shower, had Japanese styled breakfasts of rice and soup every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and American styled breakfasts of toast, egg and sausage on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

-Got to work by 7 am…no matter what.

-Had someone bring him a cup of warm coffee, no matter what the weather, by 7:15 am.

-From 7:15 am to 10:15 am, he took no phone calls and reviewed all contracts, potential companies to merge with, current stocks and net income for each branch of his business empire. _No one_ dared bother him for those three hours. If they did, there was always hell to pay.

-He checked his emails and faxed things from 10:15 am to 11:15 am.

-He then composed any business related letters from 11:15 am to 1:00 pm.

-He then had lunch.

Either he had someone go get some for him, or he went out for a bit. By 1:45 pm, there had better be an ice cold Almond Mocha on his desk or someone would lose their job.

-Any conferences he had went from 2:00 pm-6:00 pm. He would never have it another way. People scheduled things to fit his, not the other way around. If the conference hadn't come to a close by 6 pm, then it would continue tomorrow during the same time segment.

-He finished up any unfinished business from 6:10 pm to 8:00 pm.

-He got home by 8:30 pm.

-Had dinner by himself at 9:00 pm while reading the newspaper.

-Made sure Rin was in bed by 9:30 pm.

-Worked some more until midnight.

Saturdays and Sundays were slightly different and they fluctuated and varied with whatever was needed to be done. That Saturday he had had dinner with an old business partner, for purely business related reasons. The man was planning to retire soon, and Sesshomaru was going to make sure that he was the one who bought out the man's company. He had been in a fairly good mood…at least in as good of a mood as he was capable of when he saw her in front of his car. He was the observant sort of man, and immediately noticed the dent in his Escalade. She had messed up his normal everyday routines, and fixing it didn't seem to be possible…at least not anymore.

What infuriated him most though was how he wasn't as angry at Kagome as he should be. And Kagome thought that she was going to have a rough month. He was a professional business man for goodness sakes…having everything in order was _key_. His mood was often fouled for the rest of the day when he found a single wrinkle in his pristine business suits. Sesshomaru tolerated very little. Yet he let this slip of a girl come in and wreck his whole orderly system. She had absolutely ruined his Monday, and it would take weeks to right things again. She was ruining his Tuesday too. He should just fire her, and forget about the whole contract. He didn't really need her to pay him back. An almost twisted like smile crossed his lips, but he did love torturing the girl.

Sesshomaru changed lanes and drove into the parking lot. He parked in his usual spot, and looked over at Kagome. She was still sound asleep. "Wake up." he ordered.

Nothing.

"I will make you wash my cars everyday for the next 22 days if you do not wake up this instant." He waited for her to snap awake, but she didn't. He wondered how late she had stayed up last night. He thought about poking her, but that was so…undignified. That and his hand would probably begin to mottle purple, rot and fall off from the contact. He needed and preferred both of his hands thank you very much. He then had an idea.

The parking lot of his main office building was vast and currently empty. It was supposed to be like this at this time though, as everyone should be inside being productive. He reversed out of his special parking spot, shifted the car back into four wheel drive and stepped on the gas pedal. The needle of the speedometer shot forward, and made its way to 60. Then Sesshomaru slammed on the brakes. He had been prepared for the jarring impact of such a sudden stop and had his back pressed firmly against his black leather seat. Kagome on the other hand hadn't been aware of it, and unceremoniously lurched forward. Her seatbelt kept her in her seat for the most part, but her head reeled forward and hit the dashboard with a loud thunk.

Kagome had been having a wonderful dream. No crazy zombie cars chased her and she wasn't in math class. Instead she was at the park, lounging around, basking in the sunlight. She was in a beautiful flowy white dress, her hair was perfect and her skin was flawless. All she needed now was a halo and a pair of wings. Then…a beautiful man with long silvery hair and amber eyes came walking towards her, holding two bottles of water in one hand and two beautifully made sandwiches in the other. "I thought you might be hungry." he said in his silky smooth and manly voice.

"Oh Sesshomaru you're so thoughtful." Kagome replied sweetly as she batted her eyelashes at him.

"Anything for you my love." He then sat down next to her, and leaned towards her. His lips getting closer and closer…

Kagome woke up with a groan. She opened her eyes and found herself going cross-eyed from staring at Sesshomaru's special little insignia. Her forehead hummed with pain. She dizzily lifted her head from…Sesshomaru's dashboard. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to focus her vision, but it didn't help much. She glanced over at Sesshomaru who seemed to be just fine. It was then she saw his long silvery colored hair. Her eyes widened. He had long silvery hair…just like the guy in her dream… She shook her head. No, no, no. That was a nightmare. Definitely not a dream. She cringed. She had just had a nightmare about Sesshomaru! She was spending too much time with him…and when she wasn't with him, he often consumed her thoughts…which were laden with hate, but she thought of him all the same. She was probably going mental or something… "Stop staring at me."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll stare at you all I want." she retorted hotly.

"It is a pity that you did not hit your head harder." Sesshomaru commented airily as he reversed the car back into its special spot.

"I needed those brain cells. It was really rude of you to kill them." Kagome added.

"How could I kill something that didn't exist?" Sesshomaru queried.

Kagome scowled. "You're such a jerk. You think you're all high and mighty and superior when you're not. You're just arrogant. What makes you think you're so elite anyways?"

"I feel superior because unlike you I have reason to feel superior."

Kagome opened her mouth to say something witty back at him, but no words came out. Sesshomaru glanced at her before he got out of his car. Her jaw dropped open. Kagome could have sworn that she saw the corner of his lips twitch upwards…

* * *

"I expect lunch to be on my desk by…"

"What do you want?" Kagome interrupted smoothly as she looked around Sesshomaru's vast office. His office away from home was bigger than the apartment she shared with Sango.

"That is for you to figure out." Sesshomaru told her, obviously displeased at the interruption. Kagome was the only person to ever dare to interrupt him. Even Rin didn't interrupt him, and Rin was a mere child. He wondered what Kagome's IQ was.

"Well sorry for caring." Kagome snapped back, apparently hurt. "I asked you just in case you were allergic to something because I don't want your tongue to suddenly start swelling up because I fed you something that you were highly allergic to. Because then you would choke on your overly large and swollen tongue, and die before the paramedics arrive!" Kagome said, practically shouting.

"I am not allergic to anything." Sesshomaru muttered, his voice pitch lower than usual, indifferent to Kagome's passionate and heartfelt monologue.

Kagome huffed and left his office. After asking five different people and one person twice, she finally found herself outside. "Hmm…I wonder what arrogant pigs eat…"

* * *

"I'm back!" Kagome called in a sing-song voice.

Sesshomaru suppressed a groan, and stopped himself from fleeing in terror. "You're three minutes late."

"I know." Kagome replied good-naturedly. "I was having trouble turning off the stove." she explained.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. What had she been doing in the kitchen? He wondered if half of the building had gone up in flames… He dearly hoped that she hadn't tried to cook him something. He really didn't like diarrhea. Kagome had a large and proud grin on her face. She was obviously satisfied with her choice of lunch…whatever it was. She set a steaming cup of ramen on his desk. Sesshomaru looked at the cup of ramen.

Was she joking?

She better be.

_He_ did not eat ramen.

_He_ ate the finer things in life.

Besides, she couldn't really expect him to consume that…cup of toxic chemicals…

"What? Never seen a cup of ramen before?" Kagome asked laughing. Going out into the bustling streets of Tokyo had put Kagome in a good mood. She set her cup of noodles on a stack of Sesshomaru's papers and then pulled up one of the chairs closer to the desk. She then produced two pairs of chopsticks and tossed one to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru neatly caught them and watched Kagome slip the paper off of hers and break them apart. He looked down at his chopsticks, rather expectantly as if waiting for them break apart on their own. Kagome let out a loud "Mmm" and grabbed a chopstick full of noodles. She blew on the noodles to make them cool down, and shoved the whole mass into her mouth. She furrowed her eyebrows as she saw that Sesshomaru had yet to touch his noodles. She quickly swallowed…barely even chewing to Sesshomaru's disgust, and jabbed the air with her chopsticks.

"It's the best ramen around. I eat it all the time even though my roommate Sango who's kind of health freak says that it's full of chemical waste." Kagome paused to shovel another mess of noodles into her mouth. She began to chew and speak at the same time, "But I really couldn't care less. I mean so what? It tastes good and that's all that should matter." Kagome paused again as she swallowed. "And the best thing is that this ramen was on sale today!"

Sesshomaru wanted to bang his head against the desk…almost. He'd rather strangle Kagome. He remained motionless and silent. "Yup! Two for 80 cents! I'd say quite the bargain eh? Well, eat up!" Sesshomaru blinked, a look of bored disbelief on his face.

Wonderful… He was being fed a 40-cent cup of ramen. He was about to eat a single strand of noodle when he heard a rather disgusting slurping sound. He looked at Kagome who seemed unaware of the chilling look she was being given. Not only was the sound she was making extremely disturbing and making him lose his appetite, but she was spraying that vile soup all over his papers with her horrendous eating habit.

His papers…

* * *

"I will chain you to the chair if I must."

"Can't I just finish my ramen first?" Kagome pleaded, trying rather lamely to bat her eyelashes and to look innocent.

"No, and I suggest you see a doctor." Kagome raised an eyebrow at Sesshomaru's comment. "Your eyes keep twitching, and it is most unattractive." Kagome was tempted to bang her head against the computer screen. She wanted to ask Sesshomaru what gave him the right to call _her_ ugly when she remembered seeing that magazine cover with his face on it, proclaiming him the 'Hottest Man Alive.' She really didn't see how anyone could think that he was even decent looking, let alone the hottest man alive. Seriously. The people who decided that were either all old ladies who had mistaken him for a fellow 'old timer' or they were all blind…_or_ they were all men- gay men. She almost snickered at the thought. It was then it struck her.

She had had a dream earlier…in Sesshomaru's car…about Sesshomaru.

She was starting to feel sick.

"Have you heard a single word I have said?" came Sesshomaru's voice sharply.

Kagome blinked, finally roused from her stupor. She gave Sesshomaru a rather owlish look. "Of course I did." Kagome said, her eyes looking sideways at the opposing wall.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are a most horrible liar?" Sesshomaru asked, a glint of what could be amusement…or annoyance in his amber eyes.

"Sesshomaru." Kagome began. "Sama," she added quickly after he gave her a frosty glare. "I really think you should leave me to my…work now. I mean, I'm _trying _to be a good worker here, but you keep…distracting me." Kagome said gravely, her eyes steadily trained on Sesshomaru…and her fingers twiddling away like mad.

Sesshomaru merely looked at her, and Kagome looked back at him for a full minute. Except that Kagome didn't exactly look _at _him. She was actually more like…looking at his hair, wondering what sort of shampoo and conditioner he used. He probably never got split ends. Kagome almost groaned at the thought of split ends. She got them _all_ the time. He probably spent a lot of money on his hair, to have some top notch celebrity hair stylist do his hair and stuff. That's probably why it shined and looked all silky and resembled a waterfall… The only other guy she knew who took such good care of his hair was probably…Inuyasha.

He certainly didn't seem like that sort of guy with the tough act he put up all the time, but in reality, Inuyasha put in loads of effort to keep his long black hair nice and sleek looking. He was really touchy about it too, and got angry at anyone who touched it…even if it was by accident. Kagome felt sad, angry and lonely all at once. She still couldn't believe that he had broken up with her. After all those years… Hurt overwhelmed her, and she felt tears pricking her eyes. She suddenly forgot where she was and began to cry. At first it was just a few tears, but those few tears began to fall faster…and more followed…and more…and more…until a wail erupted from her lips. She had done well keeping herself busy and distracted to forget about the whole ordeal…but she could only do that for so long.

"I don't even know why I'm crying," Kagome sobbed to Sesshomaru who stood there with an angry look on his face. "He cheated on me, and he broke up with me for a really stupid reason." From there on, anything Kagome said became incoherent and Sesshomaru watched with dismay as the already tainted papers became sprinkled with her tears. That and the incessant noise was giving him a headache. He silently exited the room, and sat down rather heavily into his comfortable and custom made chair. He then began to work…or at least he tried to…unfortunately, the loud noise from the room next to his office was rendering him incapable of making any sort of coherent thoughts. Sesshomaru was very good at ignoring people…he did it all the time, yet he couldn't ignore this, then again, who could?

But the thing was that she didn't seem like the sort to cry over some boyfriend…he questioned the sanity of any man who would even think about being her boyfriend… Minutes passed and Sesshomaru was tempted to rip out his hair from the madness of it all. He had checked in on her, and was somewhat amused to find her indeed doing her work, while sobbing at the same time. She could multitask. Amazing. He had estimated that she would stop crying sooner or later…but he was wrong. An hour had passed, and she was continuing her sobbing with the same power, force and volume as when she had first started.

He had gotten a grand total of five words written for some memo he should've given to one of his secretaries an hour ago. He had a pounding headache…well, at least he thought he did. What he really felt, was guilt. Sesshomaru having never felt guilty before in his life was unable to identify these odd emotions he was having as guilt. Sesshomaru was getting desperate now. He had work to do, a business empire to run and other companies to take over, but none of that was going to happen if Kagome kept crying as she was. He finally decided to ask someone for help. It wasn't a decision that Sesshomaru had come to easily, as he hated asking anyone for advice or help because he liked to think of himself as self-sufficient. In truth, that didn't make much sense with the fleet of employees and secretaries he had staffed. But that was all completely irrelevant…why?

Because Sesshomaru Arishima said so.

Sesshomaru sat there in his chair, and stared at the phone on his desk in front of him. He felt his hand inching closer and closer. He found himself dialing a number that he almost never ever dialed. Now that he thought about it, he had only called her once, and that was to tell her that his father…her uncle, had died. She on the other hand, called him quite often. It was always to pester him, and he usually hung up on her…actually, he always hung up on her. Sometimes she even called back, and sometimes she got the message and didn't. He heard the phone ringing…and ringing…

"Yo."

He mentally cringed.

"Hello! Anyone there!"

"Hello Kagura."

Sesshomaru held the phone away from his ear as he heard Kagura yell. Her yell was followed by sounds of crashing and other people yelling. He gave the phone an odd look, was she having a seizure or something? He sighed inwardly, and with a bored look on his face, continued to hold the phone away from his ear until he finally heard some crackling, more yelling, cursing… He wondered where Kagura was and what she was doing. Sesshomaru paused, now that he thought about it, he really didn't want to know…that and he really didn't care. He heard rustling, and finally he heard her talking again. "You owe me a shitload of money Sesshomaru." said Kagura angrily.

He regretted ever having resorted to calling her. "I owe you nothing."

"Do you have any clue what you just made me do!" Kagura shouted. "You just made me destroy half of my favorite salon. I smell a lawsuit coming on, and I refuse to be the one charged."

"I would like to know just how I made you destroy half of your favorite salon."

He heard her curse again. "You really make me laugh sometimes kid. But seriously, why the hell did you call me? You never call me-" Kagura paused. "Unless someone's dead. Did some rich aunt I never know about die?"

Sesshomaru was _really_ regretting ever having called Kagura. In addition to Kagome, who didn't sound like she was going to stop anytime soon, Kagura was getting on his nerves. That was another reason why he hated her so. She called him 'kid' despite his stern orders that she call him by his name. She never listened, and continued to call him that…just because she was a year older. "No."

…

…

"Well then what!" Kagura demanded.

"I need your help."

…

…

Kagura laughed.

And she laughed.

And she laughed.

"Are you serious? You're asking _me_ for help?" Kagura asked, still laughing. "With what? Are you stuck in some bathroom, hiding from rabid fangirls?"

"No." Sesshomaru said coldly. "I learn from my mistakes." Sesshomaru preferred not to think about a certain visit he had made to an amusement park with Rin. It was for her birthday, and things didn't go exactly as planned. Sesshomaru and Rin ended up having to seek refuge in a bathroom stall from a crowd of insane hormone crazy teenage girls. It had been a nightmare with all the shrieking and Rin crying. After half an hour of excruciating pain, police officers and security came to erect barriers and escort Sesshomaru and Rin to safety. Sesshomaru had been enraged and had given the amusement park an ultimatum. Either they close down the park for a whole day, letting Rin do whatever she wanted that day…for free, or they see him in court.

For one day, Rin was the luckiest child in Japan.

"Your secretary hitting on you again?" Kagura guessed again.

"No."

"Damn it! What is this? Twenty questions!"

"Twenty questions is played differently."

Kagura began laughing again. "I'm not even going to ask how you know." she began. "But hurry up, I'm going to get my nails done in fifteen minutes."

…

He wanted to tell Kagura that he only knew because Rin enjoyed playing it, and he occasionally played with her…just to humor the child though of course. But saying so might result in just giving Kagura more material to throw back at him or blackmail him with… So he kept his mouth shut. Besides…he didn't know what to say.

"Yo, Sesshomaru, either you talk, or I leave. I have a busy schedule too you know."

"How do you make a girl stop crying?"

Kagura was slightly taken aback. She hadn't known what to expect…and she definitely hadn't been expecting this. She wondered if someone had slipped drugs into Sesshomaru's coffee or something… "I didn't know Rin was the crying type." Kagura commented.

"It's not Rin."

Sesshomaru gave the phone a curious look as he heard the faint sounds of Kagura cursing and then things breaking...again. A look that resembled disgust crossed Sesshomaru's face. His cousin was insane if she expected him to pay for whatever damage she was producing. He and Kagura never did get along…then again, Sesshomaru never really got along with anyone. Kagura was loud and foul mouthed, rather violent, rich, spoiled and as she put it "didn't give a fuck" about anything. Kagura was in the entertainment business and was the manager for celebrity singer Bankotsu , not that she needed to work or anything. She had inherited large sums of money from her mother and father who both died by the time Kagura became 18. She also got plenty of money from ex-husbands who ended up having to pay huge sums in alimony. Kagura had been married seven times already.

"Sesshomaru, will you just cut it out and just be straight forward? You usually have no problem telling me what you think, why start now? Damn it, I don't want a French manicure! I want that pearl color I had last year during the spring! What do you mean you don't remember?" He heard Kagura groan again. "Sorry about that kid. So, either tell me now or hang up."

"I need to know how to make a girl stop crying." Sesshomaru said blandly.

"You're so strange Sesshomaru. Do you think that us women are machines that can be controlled with buttons and remote controls?"

Sesshomaru almost snorted. He admitted that he didn't know a lot about women, but he wasn't _daft_. Of course, he believed that women should 'shut up' when told though. If they did, he wouldn't have to be going through this whole mess with Kagura. "That is precisely why I have called you…_Kagura_."

"Being good looking and scary doesn't always get you what you want Sesshomaru. Lesson One in 'normal' people skills is that it doesn't help to piss off someone you want help from. You know, I should just hang up on you and let you suffer. I've had enough crap for one day. By the way, I think it's a good thing that you don't call me often. Yes I am going to have my nails painted-"

"Kagura." Sesshomaru repeated sternly.

"Shut up kid. I'm still talking. No, not _you. _As I was saying, I won't help you _unless_-" Sesshomaru was expecting her to demand that he pay the salon for repairs. He supposed that would be only a small price to pay to get Kagome to stop crying. He was going to go **sane** from all of the noise. He wondered if she had drowned in her own tears yet. "You bring that girl who's crying to dinner. Besides, I want you to meet my fiancé too."

Sesshomaru didn't even bother commenting. Kagura went through husbands faster than he went through secretaries. Sesshomaru had a look of indifference on his face. He didn't even want to know why Kagura was so intent on meeting Kagome. "When?" he asked her.

"Talk about surprises. I might go into cardiac arrest if you keep it up." Sesshomaru was starting to get ideas. "I know what you're thinking Sesshomaru, and that's not funny. What day is it today?" Sesshomaru heard a muffled voice say 'Tuesday.' "How about Friday? That sound good to you?"

"How do I get a girl to stop crying?" Sesshomaru asked again, but his voice had a hint of urgency and desperation to it this time.

"You comfort her Sesshomaru. It's that simple." Kagura snorted. "And they call you the smart one of the family?"

Sesshomaru ignored that comment. "Are you sure that will get her to stop?"

"You could always try gagging her." Kagura suggested.

That sounded easier than 'comforting.'

"I was _joking_ Sesshomaru." Kagura added rather distastefully, knowing exactly what was on her cousin's mind. "Just comfort the damn girl. It's not that hard. I'll see you Friday at 6:30 pm at…Sushi Palace. I'll get us one of those nice rooms. Do you want to eat your sushi off a naked girl?"

Before Sesshomaru could say anything more, Kagura hung up. Sesshomaru slammed the phone down a few seconds later with a rather large amount of force, clearly angry. His amber eyes looked a little darker than usual as he sat there, staring at the door which separated him from Kagome…and her weeping. His hands were set on his desk as if he were holding himself down, then all of the sudden, the piece of paper that had been underneath his right hand became a tattered and crumpled up version of its former self. He was a man who feared nothing…he could do this. His face was stoic as ever and revealed nothing as he slowly got up and began to take confident steps across the room. He remained unflinching, even as the sound got louder and louder. He touched the door knob and slowly turned it, bracing himself for the full volume…

….

…when all of the sudden it became quiet…

Sesshomaru hurriedly opened the door, wondering if someone else had become tired of Kagome's wailing and beat her over the head, knocking her temporarily conscious. He had no such luck. Instead he found Kagome glaring at the computer screen, her nose a mere centimeter from actually touching it. Before he could ask her what she was doing, Kagome spoke. "Shh." she hissed. "I'm concentrating really hard right now."

He gave her a slightly puzzled look, wondering how Kagome had gotten from wailing about some boyfriend to…her current state. "What are you doing?" Sesshomaru asked, sounding nonchalant and indifferent…as usual.

"If I glare at the computer screen hard enough, the heat from my glare will unfreeze the computer." Kagome said in a matter-of-factly way.

* * *

"…and to revise the length of time the contract will be valid. Have all five of the members of the Board review the contracts to make sure that there are no loopholes the other company may use in the future to sue us. Do you have all that?"

Kagome nodded fervently as she scratched that out onto a small yellow post-it note while carrying ten folders of various 'important papers.' She stumbled slightly as she tried to keep up with Sesshomaru's long strides. Her cheeks were red from exertion, and sweat rolled down her temples. All in all…Kagome was far from looking glamorous. Yet not a single word of complaint came out of her. She struggled to stay next to Sesshomaru, who in his black Chanel suit looked like he had just stepped out of a magazine. Kagome on the other hand wore jeans that were fitting although they were just a little too long, a light blue colored t-shirt and a pair of gray sneakers. Kagome then veered away from Sesshomaru and dropped off the tiny yellow post-it note at a secretary's desk before scrambling to catch up with Sesshomaru.

She managed to catch up with him and swayed slightly as she tried to keep her balance and stay upright. Kagome could barely see over the stack of folders she carried, and to keep up, stay balanced and write memo's all at the same time…was really pushing it. Kagome had never exactly been the graceful sort, and it was taking every ounce, every drop, every molecule, and every atom of effort she had to do it all at once. She and Sesshomaru had basically been walking down every floor of the office building, handing out various memos, and half the time she had been carrying the folders. At first it had been difficult as she definitely didn't go and work out, but her arms went numb after a bit and the pain of having to carry them went away.

"I am surprised that you have not fallen yet." Sesshomaru commented rather nonchalantly as they headed outside.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome said wearily. Sessomaru looked down at her from the corner of his eyes, fully expecting her to come out of her tired state and start firing petty insults at him. "Can we eat? I'm kind of hungry. I never really did get to finish my lunch…"

* * *

Takako watched Kagome and Sesshomaru leave before huffing, obviously jealous of Kagome. Why she'd lick the floor clean if Sesshomaru asked her to... She then picked up the small and bright yellow post-it that Kagome dropped off. She scrunched her face up in confusion as she tried to make sense of it. After a few minutes of unsuccessful comprehension, Takako turned around to the other secretary. "Hey Keiko, what do you think 'make all-company contract scarier + show the Board no sue' means?"

* * *

Kagome came back to the table with a dark purple plastic tray with two nacho cheese chalupas on it, and handed one to Sesshomaru as she sat down. As Kagome eagerly unwrapped the papery tissue that her 'chalupa' was packaged in, Sesshomaru sat in his seat rather stiffly. He could just tell that the place was crawling with bacteria and disease. His seat was probably covered with germs from a little eight-year old boy who had been sick with a cold and after blowing his runny nose into his hand, had wiped it clean on the seat… Sesshomaru was more than half tempted to clean his seat… The lights were on the bright side and there were large and colorful advertisements everywhere, finishing off the cheap look of this fast food restaurant. And the people…he wouldn't even touch the topic of the other people 'dining'...

It was a wonder that Kagome was still alive. Eating the sort of food she did should have killed her ages ago…or at least made her sick so that she'd learn, but here she was, emptying package after package of salsa onto her nacho cheese chalupa like there was no tomorrow. Sesshomaru finally unwrapped his own nacho cheese chalupa. The stench of something fattening and greasy wafted up and filled his nostrils. He then tentatively took a bite, making sure that he wasn't in direct contact with the chalupa itself. After one bite he decided that the chalupa wasn't lethal…just diarrhea inducing. He set his chalupa down as he chewed, his face although still emotionless, his eyes looked as if he were thinking.

And before he knew it, Kagome had proceeded to do the same to _his_ chalupa.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Putting salsa on your chalupa." Kagome answered.

"Why?"

"For flavor silly." Kagome said laughing as if amused by the absurdity of the question.

"I am not fond of spicy foods."

"It's just salsa," Kagome explained. "It's not even really that spicy," she insisted. "It just…_accentuates_ the tastiness of the chalupa." she finally said.

"I do not like salsa."

Kagome

huffed and picked the salsa out of Sesshomaru's chalupa, and muttered something about him being pickier than Souta. Sesshomaru couldn't help but wonder who 'Souta' was. Was that the name of the boy she had been crying over?

* * *

"Just the perfect thing to finish off dinner." Kagome declared as she set her hands on the sliding door of a large ice cream freezer. She slid the freezer open and pulled out two melon bars, and was going to pay for them at the cashier when Sesshomaru grabbed her by the wrist. "I said I was going to pay for it!" Kagome said before Sesshomaru could say anything. 

"I dislike sweets." he told her as he gracefully forced a twenty dollar bill into her empty hand. Needless to say, Kagome offered no resistance, and it wasn't because she liked money. Kagome was too busy standing there, staring up at him, her mouth wide open and her eyes wide in shock as if Sesshomaru had just told her that he enjoyed gardening on the weekends. Sesshomaru looked back down at Kagome, blinking and completely unphased by her rather unnerving stare. He thought about praying to Kami, asking for a fly to go into her mouth… Just as he seriously considered it, Kagome finally managed to close her gaping mouth, and slowly began to walk away towards the cashiers, occasionally looking back over her shoulder at Sesshomaru, her eyes still wide open in what was beginning to look like horror.

Sesshomaru didn't bother waiting for Kagome. Instead he exited the disgustingly small market and waited for Kagome in his car. He rested his head against the comfortable headrest of his seat, and closed his eyes as he recounted the day's events, only to discover that chaos had overrun most of his day. Life had been nothing but chaotic since Kagome had entered his life. She was the epitome of it…she wreaked it wherever she went. His eyes were still closed when he heard the door open, the rustle of a plastic bag and then the door close. He opened his eyes, and found Kagome sitting in the back seat of his Aston Martin.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as he watched her through his rearview mirror.

"Sitting." Kagome replied as she pulled out her melon bar from the plastic bar.

"Sit in the front." he ordered her.

"No." Kagome said as she stared out the tinted windows, her hands ripping an opening in the melon bar's cover.

"Sit in the front." he repeated again.

"I'm really comfortable back here." Kagome insisted as she looked up into the rearview mirror back at him.

"_Now_."

"I'm afraid of the front seat." Kagome protested as she began to eat her light green melon bar.

"I will drag you up here if I must."

"Would not!" Kagome countered between bites of the creamy frozen treat, which was a cross between melon flavored ice cream and melon flavored snow cones.

"I will."

"I don't _want_ to sit in the front seat then." Kagome huffed.

"Do you fear me that much?" Sesshomaru asked, still watching with his seemingly all-seeing amber colored eyes.

"No." Kagome shot back quickly, her dark brown eyes flashing. She slumped in her seat, and took time to devour half of her melon bar before speaking again. "I don't sit next to people who don't like sweets."

Silence filled the air…except for Kagome crinkling the plastic of the melon bar. Finally Sesshomaru started the engine and drove away. As he drove along the highway, he glanced into his rearview mirror every now and then to 'check' on Kagome who happily ate her melon bar. She seemed so innocent and fragile, even as she chewed on the left over wooden stick rather violently. Although her eyebrows were furrowed as she did so, there was the slightest hint of a smile on her lips and a light in her eyes. She seemed happy too.

Kagome chewed on that wooden stick the whole time, and continued chewing on it as Sesshomaru drove into the parking lot of her and Sango's apartment complex. She muttered a sulky 'thanks' as she grabbed the empty plastic bag from the small market earlier and got out of the car. Sesshomaru watched her through the dark window of the passenger seat. He was about to drive off when he saw Kagome stop a few feet away from his car and freeze, her eyes wide open again. He moved his head a little to try and see what she was seeing and spotted two boys, one with long black hair, almost as long as his, and another with a short black ponytail walking towards the apartment complex as well.

Sesshomaru guessed that one of them was perhaps 'Souta' or whatever her ex-boyfriend's name had been. He watched as the one with the short black ponytail waved at Kagome. The one with long black hair turned to see who it was and froze. It was then Kagome hurriedly opened the passenger side door and jump in. Sesshomaru slowly turned his head and looked at Kagome who sat stiffly in her seat. Her nose was red and she seemed on the verge of tears again…he knew only because Rin's nose also went red right before she began crying. Kagome turned her own head to meet his eyes for only a brief moment before she faced forward again and stared into nothingness. Neither of them said anything. Sesshomaru watched the two boys outside. The long haired one gaped at Sesshomaru's car, probably looking for Kagome as the one with the ponytail just stood there, confused. Finally the long haired one went away, but only at the forceful insistence of the other boy.

* * *

"I said let go of me Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted angrily as his friend pulled him away. "My ear's attached to my head you know." he added spitefully as he let out a yelp due to Miroku accidentally twisting it.

"You should've known better than to stare." Miroku said calmly, seemingly oblivious of the pain his friend was it.

"I wasn't staring!" Inuyasha protested scowling as he finally freed himself from his friend's grasp.

"You stood there for ten minutes straight." Miroku reminded him.

"He just had a really nice car ok? I don't care about Kagome or who she's dating now." Inuyasha paused, "And I'm over her. I don't need her. I have Kikyo."

"If you were over her then why didn't you bother to tell me that you two were no longer an item?" Miroku asked as he stopped walking as soon as they were around to the other side of the apartment complex, and stared at his friend expectantly.

"It…it just wasn't that important." Inuyasha spat angrily as he kicked the ground with his shoe.

"I don't know Inuyasha." Miroku mused. "You and Kagome have liked each other for quite a while, and you two have been serious for a long time too. I fail to see how that sort of relationship isn't important."

"You're talking about relationships to me?" Inuyasha scoffed. "You can't even get the girl you want."

Miroku's face turned bright red for a few moments, and there was a few moments of terse silence until Miroku finally sputtered, "That is _not_ the point! We are talking about you and Kagome."

"I heard that the Kuranosuke guy's going to propose to Sango on our graduation night." Inuyasha continued, the look in his eyes saying that he knew he was getting Miroku from embarrassed to angry. "I bet she'll marry him. Apparently he's going to be a doctor. Doctor…sounds like Sango's type does-"

Inuyasha was sharply cut off as Miroku punched Inuyasha in the jaw. Inuyasha's head snapped to the side from the impact of the blow and he stumbled backwards, and his fall was only prevented because his back hit the wall of the apartment complex. Although having been hit, Inuyasha had a smug look on his face as he had succeeded in changing the subject completely and turning it on Miroku for even bringing…_her_ up. It pissed him off to no end that ever since that gay freak, Sesshomaru Asshole or whatever showed up and hauled Kagome out of his Modern History class, that people began bombarding him with questions. Of course Miroku tried to help him, and ended up saying out loud that Inuyasha and Kagome had broken up. Instead of making people go away, it made them come up with a frenzy of even more questions. People asking if Kagome had cheated on him with Sesshomaru, who initiated it and blah blah blah. He hadn't even been that affected by the breakup, yet Miroku and Sango were constantly worrying about him and somehow they felt the need and obligation to cheer him up. He was fine! He didn't care for Kami's sake.

Kagome meant nothing to him now. Yet images of her sparkling smiles filled his head. Sounds of her contagious laughter and the way she always said his name filled his ears. He vividly remembered how heartbroken and pained she looked when he made his announcement. His own heart had broken by just seeing her look so hurt. It had taken every ounce of willpower he had to not run after her. "NOTHING DAMN IT!" he suddenly yelled out loud as he clutched the sides of his head with his hands. He fell to his knees, not even caring that his hair was touching the ground.

"Inuyasha, I am so sorry. I…I did not mean to strike you." Miroku babbled on as if it were his fault that Inuyasha was on the ground squeezing his head in what he assumed was pain. "I couldn't control myself, I swear! Of course I was aware of my anger, but-"

"Oy, Miroku…" Inuyasha said through clenched teeth.

"Yes?" Miroku asked as he crouched down so that he was level with Inuyasha.

"Shut up." With that Inuyasha clocked Miroku in the face, making Miroku teeter backwards and land on his rear.

* * *

"Do you wish to come home with me?" Sesshomaru finally asked testily, breaking the heavy and deafening silence that had reigned for a whole half an hour in his car.

Kagome who had been sitting rather stiffly in the passenger seat, chewing on her lower lip or twiddling her fingers while staring wide-eyed at the silver insignia on his dashboard suddenly jumped as if she had been pricked with a needle. "No!" she said, a little louder than necessary. "I never said that you know."

"I never said you did." Sesshomaru replied, refraining from rolling his eyes.

"Oh. Right." Kagome muttered, her cheeks turning pink, obviously feeling somewhat stupid at the moment. Awkward silence hung heavy in the air once again. This time, Kagome was the first to break it. "Hey Sesshomaru…thanks for being kind of nice to me today. And I'm sorry about your papers." Kagome apologized as she opened the car door and swung herself around, prepared to get out. She was about to hop out of the car when she all of the sudden she looked over her shoulder at Sesshomaru, "I'll see tomorrow then, right?" she asked. "By the way, if you're going to come pick me up, pick me up on time!" Now Kagome had turned _back_ around so that she was facing Sesshomaru fully, her back against the open door, and both hands on her hip as she scolded one of the most powerful men of Japan, whom she had known for three and a half days now. "I mean seriously, I was waiting for you and you didn't come, I was starting to think that you were lying dead on the road or something-"

"Kagome," Sesshomaru smoothly interrupted, startling her from the 'long rant mode' she had slipped into. "You should not cry for those who do not deserve it."

Kagome sat there with the passenger door half open while her mouth was _all _the way open. The look on her face could only be described as utter and complete shock.

Several minutes passed with Kagome blinking only occasionally, her mouth still wide open like a fly trap, and still staring at Sesshomaru as if his hair had become green. Sesshomaru's nostrils flared just slightly out of annoyance as the smell of ripe trash made its way into his car through Kagome's open car door. This suit was definitely heading for the dry cleaners tomorrow, and if the smell penetrated his car any longer, the leather was going to require some maintenance too. He gave Kagome who was once again at the source of the current problem, a frosty look, "Out wench."

* * *

**REVIEW! (Please and thank you! )**

**A/N: **Heh...I know, I have some nerve asking for reviews still...since I like took 4 months to update when I said I wouldn't take more than 2...heh...forgive me! I am currently begging and groveling for forgiveness from you guys! Do grant it to me! In addition to the usual harries of life and school, I have been obsessing over this chapter. For some reason it doesn't seem good enough to me...so I apologize if it doesn't seem very well written this time. -- Also...am I nuts for thinking about starting a new fic? (Sess/Kago of course!)

So send me reviews telling me what you think! I live for the reviews! But really, you guys are amazing! A lot of you emailed me to see what was up, and let me assure you, that's fine with me! I don't mind. Flattered me that you guys were checking up on me and all. That and you guys gave me more reviews than last time! Everytime I look at how many reviews I have in total...I almost keel over in shock. You all have no clue how much your reviews and you keeping interest in this slowly updated fic means to me. Hence if you all really think that I should start a new fic...you guys will be deciding which on it'll be!

I've been thinking...about perhaps not making this fic as long as intended...it'll still be a chapter for each day...but there will bea twist as to why it doesn't end up being 25 days...muahaha. Anyways...I apologize profusely again, and I ask of you to review...yet again.

Oh, and before I forget...there were some subtle jokes in this time around...I might have made them a little _too_ subtle...if you get confused...feel free to ask me about it...>

* * *


	5. Day 4: His Picture

**Disclaimer: **I own Inuyasha as much as I regularly update…haha.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I was very flattered and touched that so many people continued to review even though the fic hadn't been updated in over two years. The last several years have been a bit tumultuous for me, so your ongoing support means a lot. I apologize if you've forgotten what has happened in the last several chapters since it has been so long. I am also very sorry that I did not list all of the reviewers like I usually do, and I promise that all you reviewers will get recognition the next chapter. Thank you so much for continuing to support this fic!

**Special thanks to: **GoddessInu03, Nursekatai and Sesshomaru's for continuously pestering me over the years to update. You have no idea how much I appreciated it!

**A/N: There is a large dose of Sango/Miroku in this chapter, so if you're not a Sango/Miroku shipper I apologize profusely! And please don't punish me with no reviews. Haha.**

* * *

**Cast List in case you forgot**

**Jaken- **_The ever loyal and humble personal assistant of Sesshomaru's. Rin's caretaker. The only one who actually calls Sesshomaru 'Lord' or 'Master' on a daily basis. _

**Inuyasha Yamamoto- **_Champion on the semi-pro lightweight boxing circuit. Afraid of commitment. Friends with Kagome for about forever. The no good S.O.B who dumped her for the cousin…Kikyo._

**Kagome- **_$1100 in debt. 22. Likes ice cream. The struggling senior in college who finds herself subject to a gorgeous but overbearing, icy and tyrannical international businessman. Clumsy and talkative. _

**Kagura- **_The fiery cousin of the Ice Prince. Sly and cunning. Serial bride. Loves to annoy Sesshomaru._

**Kuranosuke- **_Sango's current boyfriend. Ideal. Treats her well, is going to be a doctor and has money. Rumors say that he is going to propose soon. Bane of Miroku's existence._

**Miroku Ishibashi- **_Perverted. Smooth-talking. Flirtatious. Loves the ladies. Pining after Sango._

**Rin- **_7.__Cute. Sesshomaru's weakness. Rumors say that Sesshomaru is also her father_

**Sango Uchida- **_Bearer of brains, beauty and brawn. Sensible. Kagome's best friend and roommate. Star of Tokyo University's Cross Country, Soccer and Judo Teams. Going out with handsome, kind and well-to-do Kuranosuke._

**Sesshomaru Arishima- **_Evil genius. Cold and humorless. Hot as hell. Known for his stunning looks and ruthless business tactics worldwide._

**Souta- **_The responsible, endearing and loving little brother of Kagome. Inuyasha's number one fan. Unaware of the breakup. Needs a cool male figure for Career Day_

**

* * *

**

**A few reminders: Everything is in U.S. Currency. Inuyasha has long black hair and he and Sesshomaru are NOT related. **

* * *

Day 4: His Picture

* * *

Sango slipped her feet into her new of pair of black and pink striped Nikes while tying her hair back into a tight ponytail. She nodded in approval as she lightly jogged in place, testing them out. "Not bad." she said to herself as she bent over to brush a bit of lint off one of the shoelaces. She wore a matching outfit of a black lycra tank top and jogging shorts, both with pink stripes on the sides. The small pink Nike logo neatly stood out against the black material of her top. Everything she wore was brand new, the sleek black and pink sports watch and even the black sports bra underneath her tank top were all courtesy of Nike.

For the last few weeks she had been pursued by several major athletic and sports companies, like Puma and Reebok. Word had leaked that she was going to leave her current sponsor, Adidas, which was true, and Sango had a sneaking suspicion that her agent had been the one to blab. Ever since then, she had been constantly bombarded with phone calls and visits from representatives. So far, Nike had been the nicest to her, especially with this recent and very generous gesture of a custom made outfit and shoes, all with her signature colors.

She took a step back to peek into the bedroom she shared with Kagome and as expected, Kagome was fast asleep. Glancing down at her watch, Sango stretched her back a bit; she would make it back in time to wake Kagome up…as usual. With that she silently slipped out the door. She carefully closed the door behind her, but she nearly jumped as she saw a completely unexpected face asleep with his back up against the wall next to the door of her apartment. Sango blinked several times just to make sure that it was really Miroku. Wondering why Miroku was awake at this hour, let alone dressed in a purple muscle shirt and gray athletic shorts, Sango stood there peering at him expectantly, trying to make sense of everything.

Unfortunately none of it made sense, not even to a great mind like hers. After deducing that staring at Miroku wasn't going to wake him up any time soon, Sango finally ended up stomping on his foot. Immediately Miroku's eyes shot open and a howl of pain emitted from his lips as he nearly fell over while trying to clutch his foot. The moment he noticed Sango standing over him with her arms crossed and a concerned look on her face, all traces of pain suddenly vanished. "Good morning Sango!" he chirped cheerfully as he quickly straightened up.

"Good...morning to you...too...Miroku..." Sango replied hestitantly looking Miroku up and down. He looked like he was about to...Sango's eyes widened at the thought. No...he couldn't be serious... Without uttering another word, Sango quickly turned around and raced down the flight of cement stairs to the exit door. Sure enough, she heard Miroku's rushed and pounding footsteps right behind her. With some effort she opened the heavy door and slipped out, not waiting to hold the door open for Miroku. She felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards as she heard Miroku curse at the door for stubbing his toe.

"Sango! Wait for me!" Miroku called.

Despite herself, Sango slowed to a halt, her eyes cast downwards at her shadow. She could see Miroku's shadow now, and it was getting bigger, meaning that he was getting closer.

"It's quite chilly, but I guess that running will warm us up, eh?" Miroku said pleasantly, a small smile masking the look of exhaustion on his face as he jogged alongside Sango.

Sango merely shrugged although she could feel her cheeks burning already- and they had just started jogging. Miroku had a tendency to have that effect on her...sometimes. Middle school was alright, but the first two years of highschool were awful...every single time Miroku looked at her, Sango's whole face would turn red. Kagome always insisted it was because Sango had a crush on Miroku, but Sango couldn't even imagine liking a chauvinistic and shallow guy like Miroku. She rationalized her excessive blushing to the fact that Miroku had unique eyes. They were a beautiful and dark stone grey, a shade that not even many Americans had. Sango recalled Miroku telling her how his whole family had been baffled by this physical trait of his. He looked exactly like every other Japanese male except for his eyes, so the possibility that Miroku's mother had had an affair was ruled out. His family immersed themselves into researching their family tree when they discovered that his great, great, great, great, great grandfather had actually been an Englishman.

Then her junior year she met Kuranosuke and she gradually grew out of her 'blushing' stage much to Miroku's dismay who had always revelled in the fact that he held that kind of power over Sango.

"I really shouldn't have gone to bed so late, but habits are hard to break..." Miroku chattered on, nearly tripping over his own two feet as he tried to keep up with Sango. She hadn't really realized that she had sped up to running speed until then, and she made no effort to slow down. She usually didn't run this fast, but if she was to keep with her daily routine, she'd have to pick up the pace since Miroku had delayed her by a whole 30 seconds this morning.

His sentences became more choppy as he began to pant, his face red from exertion. "You certainly...have...a...lot...of...will power...to do this every...morning...rain...or shine..."

"Miroku," Sango interjected as she finally slowed her pace much to Miroku's relief. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what my dearest Sango?"

"This!" she exclaimed exasperated. "You never ever wake up this early, let alone go on a brisk morning walk."

Miroku sighed as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I figured that it's about time I get into 'actual' shape." Miroku said with forced nonchalant smile.

"I thought you were already perfect." Sango commented rather meanly.

"I _am_...you just run fast." he insisted, "Besides, a good looking body doesn't necessarily mean it's a fit body." All of the sudden Miroku wearily tripped over his foot and did a faceplant on the smooth but hard cement walking trail.

"Miroku!" Sango exclaimed, completely horrified and shocked. She quickly fell to her knees, "Miroku!" she said again, "Are you alright??"

Miroku let out a moan.

"Well, at least you're alive." Sango muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Can you get up?"

Miroku lifted his head up from the ground, blood running down from his nose and down his face. "This must be a dream," he remarked woozily. "There's three of you."

"I think you might've broken your nose!" Sango told him, completely focused on the more urgent matter at hand.

"That might be why I taste blood." Miroku commented as he managed to sit up. He lightly pressed two fingers against his upper lips, only to find them dabbed with blood. Miroku winced; he never did have a strong stomach when it came to blood. Noticing an elderly couple watching them, Miroku waved his two bloodied fingers in greeting. "I'm fine!" he assured them.

"The beauty of your perfect nose might be marred forever if we don't get you to a hospital right away." Sango continued as she studied his potentially broken nose from several different angles.

"No, no, no," Miroku repeated over and over. "No hospital. I'm fine, really," he added in a lame attempt to persuade her so. A hospital was the last place that Miroku wanted to go to. With some difficulty he climbed to his feet with a grunt, "Let's sit down at that bench and enjoy the scenery." he suggested as he gingerly wiped away some blood with the back of his hand. "Shall we?"

Sango took one look at Miroku's bloodied face, tousled hair, hopeful eyes and agreed.

* * *

The phone rang.

And it rang...

And it rang.

Why wasn't Sango answering it?? Kagome groaned, but remained in the same position, refusing to move. As the phone continued ringing Kagome finally moved in an attempt to drown out the noise. She buried her head under her pillow and piled her comforter on top of that, but the sharp and annoying ring of the phone persisted. She feebly called out her best friend's name (ignoring the fact that her pillow and blanket most likely muted out any sounds she made), hoping to bring to Sango's attention that the phone was _ringing_ and that _she_ was trying to sleep. It was then Kagome realized that her friend was probably out jogging like she did every single day...meaning that she wasn't really available to answer the phone. With an estranged huff she threw off her blanket and pillow and yawning she crawled out of her bed and used the doorknob of the bedroom door to help herself up onto her feet. Her vision was swimming and her body told her that it wasn't 8:00 am yet. She could make out the phone on the coffee table now; she just had a few more steps to go until that torturous noise would stop. Kagome was so intent on answering the phone just so that she could have some peace that she forgot about the rug and found herself sprawled out on the couch.

She let out a grateful sigh though. If only she could land on something as cushy as the couch each time she tripped over something...

Her wishful thinking was interrupted by the persistent ringing of the phone. She grabbed the phone and answered it, fully expecting the offender to be Sesshomaru because he was most definitely the only person on the whole planet who would be cruel enough to deprive her of her precious sleep. "Hello?"

"Kagome?"

A quizzical expression crossed Kagome's face. It wasn't Sesshomaru... "Souta?"

"Hey sis. You sound kinda weird. Did you just wake up?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Kagome grumbled as she wriggled her body about in an effort to get comfortable on the couch.

"Oh- Well, you sleep too much anyways." Souta replied.

"That's not true!" she protested indignantly.

"I sleep less than you do, but you don't see me getting grumpy. You get angry when you only get 7 hours of sleep." he continued.

"Why did you call so early anyways?" Kagome asked hastily, eager to change the subejct.

"Oh yeah, about that. Can you and Inuyasha come to Kyoto tomorrow?"

Kagome winced at hearing Inuyasha's name. "Err...for what?" she asked slowly.

"You forgot?!" Souta shouted, sounding hysterical and panicky.

"If I hadn't I wouldn't be so confused right now Souta." Kagome commented as she rubbed her eyes.

"It's career day on Thursday Kagome! That's tomorrow! You and Inuyasha always come." Kagome felt a pang of guilt. Of course...career day... She was about to speak, but Souta beat her to it. "I knew you'd forget; I've been trying to reach you for _weeks_ Sis. What's the point of having a cellphone if you don't even answer it?"

"Oh...I kinda broke it." Kagome admitted sheepishly glad for the change in subject.

"Did you drop it in the toilet again?"

"No...I broke off the antennae, but it should only cost about $10 to fix it." she assured her brother.

"Hey sis, Mom's calling, just a sec, ok?"

For the next few seconds Kagome frantically wracked her brain trying to find out a way to break it to Souta that Inuyasha wouldn't be coming...or that if he did that she wouldn't be accompanying him. Perhaps she could just tell him that they had broken up and let him make his own conclusions. Or maybe she could say that Inuyasha was too sick...or had to make up a test... Before she could come up with a solid lie Souta returned. He spoke rapidly, not allowing her to even get a word in edgewise.

"I'm back, but I've gotta go now. Mom and Grandpa say hi, so I'll see you tomorrow then sis. Love you!"

And the line went dead.

Kagome stared at the phone, her mouth agape. All she wanted to do now was crawl into a hole and die...she felt terrible. She could just imagine the crestfallen look on Souta's face when she told him the news; he was such a good kid too. What was she going to do now?

For the last few years, Inuyasha had been going to Souta's middle school career days as a college lightweight boxing champion on the semi-pro circuit. Kagome personally saw them more as opportunities for both Souta and Inuyasha to boast and brag. Inuyasha getting to retell his more bloody and gorey fights while Souta proudly added that he was there in the front row watching. Then Inuyasha would teach the kids a few moves and Souta already knowing the moves would get to be his gloating assistant while Kagome stood by, smiling. After school was out, they would all go home to a big home-cooked meal, courtesy of Kagome and Souta's mother; those days were always close to perfect. The laughter...the love... A wistful sigh escaped from Kagome's lips and a painful ache filled her as she found her throat getting tight. His apartment was only a few doors down; maybe she could go down there to discuss how to take care of the 'Souta situation' like civilized and mature adults.

And while they discussed what to do, Inuyasha would finally break down and apologize for hurting her and for acting like a jerk. Then his dark eyes would look into hers and he would confess how much he loved her and ask her to take him back even though he didn't deserve it...

She blinked back tears as memory after memory floated across her mind. They had been perfect for each other...where had they gone wrong?

After laying on the couch in the complete silence of the apartment for a while, Kagome then saw the clock on the far wall. It was 7:45 am; confusion crinkled her brow. Sango was supposed to wake her up for the first time 15 minutes ago, and considering Sango had never been late for anything her whole entire life, Kagome was extremely worried. Maybe Sango _had_ woken her up 15 minutes ago, maybe Kagome hadn't heard or felt anything because she was so sound asleep, and Sango was probably at the market picking up some soy milk or something like that. So Kagome waited, but 15 minutes later (which was when Sango was supposed to wake her up for the _second_ time), there was still no sign of her friend. Maybe Sango had been kidnapped by athletic gear representatives...

* * *

"So have you decided who your new sponsor is going to be yet?" Miroku asked Sango nonchalantly as they sat on the wooden bench.

Sango shrugged as she watched a few people jog and bike by. "A little. I think I'll be going with Nike though."

Miroku nodded. "They're definitely a major company. I suspect we'll be seeing your face on billboards soon."

She laughed, a light pink tinging her cheeks. "I don't know about that." It wasn't long until the both of them fell silent; both of them enjoying the serene quiet the walking path offered, both lost in their thoughts. Well, at least Sango was. Miroku couldn't help but sneak glances at her every now and then. How could he not? Her beauty was so radiant...she was so perfect...he was captivated and mesmerized and he didn't realize that he was staring until Sango spoke, oblivious of her admirer. "That's so cute." she commented as she tilted her head to the side. A puzzled look crossed Miroku's face until he finally looked up, only to see an elderly couple out for a stroll. Perplexed by how they were 'cute,' Miroku turned to look at Sango again. Had she been referring to something else? Judging by how her eyes were following the couple as they slowly walked by, Miroku guessed not. He was failing to see how they were 'cute,' but he supposed that the sight of them was...endearing in a way. "I don't know how they do it," Sango mused out loud with a sigh, "Staying together for all those years can't be easy. I mean, how do you know when someone is you know...the one?"

His breath caught in his throat. He wanted to tell her that you knew when someone was the one when they were all you thought about, even when you were with someone else. He wanted to tell her that you knew when someone was the one when they seemed perfect...despite their obvious imperfections and faults. He wanted to tell her that you knew when someone was the one when you were willing to do anything to put a smile on their face. He wanted to tell her that you knew when someone was the one when your feelings for them didn't fade one bit...even after years and years. He wanted to tell her that you knew when someone was the one when you noticed all of their strange little quirks and habits. He wanted to tell her that you knew when someone was the one when you got so nervous around them that you did stupid things. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and beg her not to marry Kuranosuke, but all that came out of his mouth was, "I don't know."

Then he did the stupidest thing possible.

He groped her.

An ear-splitting "MIROKU!!!!!!!" rang in the air and all of the sudden everything went black.

* * *

"That was really embarrassing." Kagome informed Sesshomaru as they walked out to his car.

"I'm glad."

Kagome scowled in reply. "I mean _really_, you're not even my mother! Were they even legally at will to discuss my grades with you??"

"Being rich, famous, powerful and handsome has its advantages."

"I'd rather do whatever degrading and menial tasks you need me to do than study these books." she admitted out of desperation.

He didn't say anything and merely walked around to the other side of the car and got in. Kagome glowered at him through the tinted window and considered running off and hiding in the girl's bathroom or something. Then when Sesshomaru actually came into the bathroom to get her and stuff her into his car, she could have some material to sue him with. But then she did have to consider the fact that no sane lawyer in the world would be willing to side with her if the opposing party was Sesshomaru Arishima. Her expression soured and with no attempt to mask her bitterness Kagome got into the car, dropping her bulging bookbag onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Kagome didn't even bother to badger him with the usual questions today; she just slouched in her seat and stared out the window. 'He thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's good-looking and almighty,' Kagome angrily thought to herself, ignoring the fact that he actually _could_ do whatever he wanted because he was good-looking and almighty. 'Someday he'll fall off his high horse and he won't be one of the most powerful men in the world anymore, and on that day I'm going to laugh in his face and...' Kagome suddenly sat upright, her body rigid and her eyes wide. She hardly dared to breathe... She sneaked a glance over at Sesshomaru and nearly hugged him. Why hadn't it occurred to her sooner? Although he was the cause of 90 of her problems, he could solve at least 5 of them!

There was only one thing better than a lightweight boxing champion of the semi-pro circuit...

A wealthy business tycoon...

Specifically one named Sesshomaru Arishima...

Who was coincidentally driving the car she was in...

"Sooo, how are you today?" Kagome asked him pleasantly a beauteous smile gracing her face.

"I was doing fine until you felt the need to talk." he replied with obvious disinterest.

"That's...great..." she said hesitantly. She was starting to have second thoughts about her current tactics. Were all these niceties really worth making Souta happy? _Could_ she even continue with these niceties?? Her younger brother's innocent and unselfish face floated across her mind; he did so much for her while she merely bought him the occassional ice cream and lollipop. Bringing Inuyasha over for Career Day was the least she could do for him, but she just couldn't bring Inuyasha...she just couldn't.

Sesshomaru gave Kagome an odd look, but didn't say anything. Silence was good.

"Do you have any siblings?" she suddenly asked.

"No." he told her flatly. Kagome nodded, not expecting anything more. "My mother was too sick to have anymore children."

A soft, 'Oh' escaped from Kagome's lips. For the first time since their first encounter, Kagome saw Sesshomaru as more than just some arrogant and selfish Machiavellian business-empire-building jackass. For the first time since their first encounter, Kagome saw Sesshomaru as a human.

As soon as he finished speaking, Sesshomaru nearly drove into the concrete road dividers. That had been completely unnecessary and uncharacteristic of him. What had possessed him to reveal such irrelevant information to Kagome? He never talked about his mother and he hardly even talked about his father. It wasn't just because there was no point in doing so; he just didn't like it. Sesshomaru had cared very much for his mother, and possibly even loved her. She had been the only person he had ever smiled for, only because she swore that Sesshomaru's smile could brighten even the darkest of her days. Even though she was frail and weak, she always had this dignified and regal air about her. She was a magnificent story teller, telling Sesshomaru of the days when she was a young girl and able as a sprite. It was hard for Sesshomaru to believe his mother's stories of her joyful and humorous childhood because she was usually somber and serious. She had been a strong woman, battling a disease that was supposed to have taken her life years before, but even the strongest and greatest of warriors could only fight for so long.

At least she was no longer in pain.

"I have a younger brother." Kagome finally said after a while.

"I am glad." Sesshomaru said tersely, a bit irritated that Kagome had pulled him out of his thoughts.

"His name is Souta," Kagome continued.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything, his face blank as usual. Souta...the name rang a bell. Of course...her ex-boyfriend, except that Souta wasn't her ex-boyfriend at all...he was her younger brother. For some reason, a mysterious feeling of resent disappeared the moment he deduced that.

"Souta's pretty mature for his age," she went on, pretending to be completely oblivious to the fact that Sesshomaru really couldn't care less. "I mean, half the time he was the one who woke me up for school. That and he even got my homework assignments for me whenever I was home sick. He's a really nice kid." She sighed fondly at the memories; while her friend always complained about their siblings, Kagome could only praise hers.

"You should learn a thing or two from him."

"You're probably right," she admitted sheepishly.

"I'm always right."

"Of course...how could I forget..." Kagome's voice faded off as she calmed herself. Her mission was to make Souta happy...and that was what she was going to do... "So...Souta's-having-this-career-day-on-Thursday-and-I-kind-of-told-him-that-you-would-come."

"No."

Kagome pouted. "You _do_ know that you're going to crush the hopes and dreams of a little boy, right?"

"It is a favorite pasttime of mine."

"Can't you just be serious for once?" Kagome pleaded, obviously distressed.

"I am always serious." Sesshomaru told her sternly.

"Yeah, yeah. Always right, always serious, always an ASS." she retorted hotly, her voice sounding strained. Before he could interject, Kagome proceeded with her ranting, "Sess- I mean, Sesshomaru-sama, this Career Day is really important to Souta, and I promised him that I'd take care of it. Can you just please do this one thing for me? I'll never ask for anything again, not even icecream; I'll even work an extra month for you if I have to." Her mournful dark brown eyes of desperation looked up at him, begging him to muster up just one gram of the nonexistent compassion within him.

Sesshomaru's amber eyes turned away from the road as he looked at Kagome for a moment. For that single moment their eyes locked, his hard eyes looking into her soft ones. He had convinced the world and himself that he had no heart while she wore hers on her sleeve. But no one cared to look for his and no one cared to look at hers. Everyone was content to be deterred by his coldness and everyone was content to be fooled by her warmth. For that moment he ceased to think of her as an annoying woman-child and for that moment she ceased to think of him as a mean old man. The moment was soon over though and Sesshomaru turned away much to Kagome's disappointment.

"Fathers are supposed to go to Career Days." Sesshomaru informed her in clipped tone.

"He would...if he were alive." Kagome replied, her voice sounding choked, "He was killed by a drunk driver two years after Souta was born."

They had so much in common; his mother died when he was a teenager and her father died when she was almost a teen. They were practically soulmates. Sesshomaru nearly snorted but cleared his throat instead. Yet...strangely enough, he wanted to say yes, just to make her smile, but he had already made so many exceptions for this girl. She had just come barging into his life and turned it upside down all on her own. All of the sudden Sesshomaru found himself telling his secretaries to reschedule meetings, thinking about her, leaving work to pick her up and take her places, working less and actually trusting others with responsibility and work...he had to draw the line somewhere. If not...his whole empire would crumble...and then everything that both he and his father had worked for would be gone...all because of some girl.

"I...can't."

Kagome was stunned by his reply. "You're Sesshomaru Arishima. There's nothing that you _can't_ do."

"I remain steadfast with my initial decision." Even though he made every effort to say it without looking at Kagome, Sesshomaru knew very well that he had just hurt her on a deeper level. He could even feel the crestfallen look on her face. If she had thought that he was a little bit human for his slip of tongue earlier, she most surely didn't think so now.

"Fine. Whatever. I should've known that you're not the dependable kind anyways."

It probably ran in the family; his father never came to his career day.

* * *

_He carefully took her hands in his. Her hands were a bit rough from all of the sports she played, but he didn't mind at all. Her hands fit perfectly inside his...almost as if their hands had been meant to hold each other. "Sango...I love you."_

_Her eyes welled up with tears as she smiled. "I love you too."_

_"That's why I want to know...if you'll marry me."_

_Her smile was now radiant, and he knew that he would never get tired of seeing her face every morning when he woke up. She threw her arms around him and he swore that he was in complete and utter ecstasy. "Oh Kuranosuke, of course I will!"_

"AGGHH!!!"

"Miroku, it's ok!"

Hearing Sango's voice immediately soothed him and Miroku stopped yelling. His heart was racing and he felt like he was choking. It was rather difficult to breathe as well and he was forced to breathe through his mouth. He blinked rapidly, while his hands felt around on something that felt a lot like a bed. "Whe...where am I?" he finaly asked once he was aware of his foreign surroundings.

"You're in a hospital." Sango informed him, wincing slightly.

"How did I get here? What happened?" Miroku asked, extremely confused. He definitely did not recall being brought to a hospital, nor needing to go to one. He probed his foggy memory for recollections of what had happened. The last thing he remebered was sitting on the bench and talking with Sango, and then he had... Miroku groaned. Why did he always ruin moments?? He buried his face in his hands, or at least attempted to. A shock of pain went through his body the instant one of his pinky fingers brushed up against his nose. "Oh Kami, that hurt!" he exclaimed as his whole face contorted with pain.

"I'm so sorry Miroku!" Sango sputtered as she rose up and out of her chair. "I really didn't mean to. It was an accident, well, I meant to hit you, but not that hard."

Miroku gave Sango a blank look. "I'm afraid I have no clue what you are talking about Sango." Miroku paused, "I'm very confused to be honest."

Sango's voice faltered. "I...broke your nose."

"You what?!" Miroku gingerly tapped his nose again...just to confirm Sango's claims, not that she would really have any need to lie to him about such things. He certainly felt pain, but he couldn't actually feel his nose. Instead of his own warm flesh he felt cold metal. "Why would you do such a thing?"

All hints of sympathy, apology and compassion vanished as Sango glowered at him. "I'm pretty sure I punched your nose, not your head," she grumbled. She gave him a look of disdain as she noticed how he was staring at her chest. "You're such a pervert!"

"Are those blood stains?" Miroku asked as he brushed aside her comments.

Sango looked down at her black lyrca tank top and saw that there really were some darker spots on her shirt, and that the formerly pink Nike logo on the tank top was now red. "I guess so..."

"I have a feeling that's my blood."

She shrugged although they both knew perfectly well that it was. "Fortunately your nose broke..._I_ broke your nose cleanly so it should heal within a few weeks at the maximum. You have to be careful when you're taking showers and washing your face. They've prescribed you some pretty strong pain killers, and no sunglasses or any type of glasses."

"Says who?" Miroku demanded as he looked around the sterile white room.

"Kuranosuke."

Miroku's fists clenched and jaw tensed at the mention of Kuranosuke. Sure he couldn't exactly remember what happened and how he got here although he imagined Sango carried him, (Sango was very strong), but he most certainly remembered that awful nightmare he had had. "I believe that I explicitly told you that I didn't want to go to a hospital."

She was at loss for words. Miroku had never sounded so cold before...and she was taken aback. "I'm...sorry, but I was worried about you."

A pang of guilt hit Miroku. He hadn't meant to come across so icily, but Sango didn't understand. He didn't like this hospital. Miroku didn't care if he was half-dead; he'd rather go to a different hospital even if it was farther away. Kuranosuke worked at this hospital, and knowing that Kuranosuke was probably the one who had reset his nose didn't exactly make Miroku feel better. "Sango? Thank you."

A shy smile spread across Sango's lips and Miroku was captivated once again. "No problem, really."

Then the devil came in. "I see that you've woken up now Miroku."

Miroku wanted to punch that smile off of his face.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Kuranosuke offered.

"I'm fine." Miroku replied stiffly.

"Sango?"

"I'm a little thirsty. Is there a vending machine anywhere?" Sango inquired.

Kuranosuke nodded and pointed out of the door. "There's one down the hall to your right. Need a dollar?"

"A dollar would be nice," she agreed laughing lightly as she plucked the dollar from his fingers. "Thanks!"

Miroku rolled his eyes as he noted Kuranosuke's adoring eyes follow her out the door. The sweet reality of it all made him sick; Kuranosuke was truly in love with Sango. "I'm going to marry that girl someday." he suddenly announced. Before Miroku could say anything Kuranosuke began to fill Miroku in on do's and don'ts (more don'ts than do's), what medications he was to take, and he was in the middle of listing precautions when Sango returned.

"I'm not quite sure that I understand everything you've told me so far," Miroku interceded smoothly, his voice crisp and overly polite.

"It's alright Miroku. I'll just have Kuranosuke explain it all to me and I'll break it down for you later." Sango offered.

"That won't be nec-" Miroku began.

"It's completely necessary. Taking care of you is the least I can do."

"Well, if you insist." Miroku conceded as he raised both of his hands up in the air in mock surrender. He couldn't help but smile...his plan had worked better than he could have ever anticipated. Sango taking care of him at the price of a broken nose? He wasn't complaining.

* * *

"So what will it be today?" Kagome asked Sesshomaru as she trailed behind him, toting his black leather briefcase.

"What are you talking about?" Sesshomaru asked as he was handed a clean white manila folder.

"Are you going to ductape me to a chair and make me type something for you, or am I going to have to accompany you to another conference meeting or-"

"None of the above," Sesshomaru interrupted. "You will be focusing on more important matters today."

Kagome was confused. What could be more important than Sesshomaru? Absolutely nothing...was he going to make her shampoo his hair or something? As hard as she tried to be disgusted by the thought, Kagome couldn't help but kind of long to touch his hair. He had this fine and naturally silver colored hair that hung all the way down to his waist. Yet he didn't look like a hippie or an old man...his hair just added to the whole 'refined-look' he had going on. "I don't get it." Kagome finally said.

"Your education." he replied very matter-of-factly.

"What about it?" Kagome asked again, displeased with the subject of talk.

Half an hour later Kagome was laying on a comfy and elegant divan in the far corner with a thick book propped up on her stomache. It was safe to say that she wasn't making much progress as she was still on page 7, which was technically the first page because the first six pages had been full of publishing and copyrights, a preface and an explanation of footnotes and so forth. Kagome was still fuming over the fact that Sesshomaru had called her grades lousy and commanded that she actually start reading the assigned books. She had shot back that she had perfected the 'good guesser' strategy and didn't need to waste her precious time by reading boring books full of ancient Japanese words that no one except her grandfather used nowadays. Of course Sesshomaru didn't believe that a 'C' was passing and perfectly acceptable. That and he wouldn't even let her sit in the black leather furniture that was in the middle of the room. She was apparently not worthy of sitting in the armchairs or the couch and was hence banished to the divan in the far corner. Huffing, Kagome turned the page although she hadn't really digested what she had just read.

All of the sudden the door opened, and a man with flushed cheeks timidly stepped inside the office of doom. He bowed several times before speaking, "Sesshomaru-sama, I am afraid that I have some bad news." It was obvious that the man was terrified of having to be the bearer of ill news. A contest of doom had been going on while Sesshomaru went out to fetch Kagome. All of the employees in the public relations and media department had been engaging in rounds of 'Rock, Paper, Scissor' to see who would be the unlucky loser.

"And...?" Sesshomaru inquired, annoyed by the man's excessive sweating and fidgeting.

"There is talk of you in the media..." the man's voice peetered out as he nervously loosened his constraining necktie.

"This is not news of any sort- good or bad." Sesshomaru commented, his eyebrows furrowing just slightly.

"Oh right, of course sir."

Kagome waited for the man to choke and keel over any second now.

"I'll just let you peruse these on your own time then." The man placed a stack of various magazines and newspapers on the edge of Sesshomaru's desk and exited immediately.

Sesshomaru proceeded to jot down random notes and to shuffle through papers...acting as if the man hadn't even been there.

"Well if you're not going to take a look, I will." Kagome finally announced as she precariously tossed aside her copy of The Tale of the Heike, anything was better than that.

"Did I say you could stop reading?" Sesshomaru asked as he began to black out words and even paragraphs of some packet.

"No...what's with all these magazines? They're not even the business ones...they're hip fashion magazines." It had been a while sine Kagome had read one of these magazines. She and Sango used to read them all the time; she wondered why they had given up such a fun activity. It was then she realized that all of the magazines and newspapers contained bright blue markers. Curious, Kagome turned to one of the marked pages and was horrified at what she saw. Her mouth was agape in a silent scream as her eyes scanned the page.

**SESSHOMARU'S SECRET STUDENT SQUEEZE**

**One of the world's most eligible, richest and single bachelors no longer appears to be available anymore. Numerous students of Tokyo University have reported the business mogul coming to the school nearly everyday to pick up his new girlfriend. Although it is unclear how they met, the very lucky girl, Kagome Higurashi, seems to have resisted the charms, looks and power of Sesshomaru Arishima as people have reported that Sesshomaru was forced to adopt a very aggressive courting method in the beginning...**

"Why are your eyes bugging out so?"

Startled by the interruption, Kagome stopped reading and looked up. "Huh?"

"Stop reading such frivolous works and resume the classic work of blind monks," he ordered as he pointed to the divan with his big, fat black marker that was emitting a very toxic smell.

"That is the most unflattering picture ever! I look so chubby!" Kagome complained.

"You always appear less than thin, but what are you even whining about?" Sesshomaru contested.

"THIS!" She jabbed at the marked page in the magazine and pushed it across the desk.

Not even a hint of a wrinkle of worry was etched into Seshomaru's face. He seemed completely unfazed, "I look good." he remarked casually as he turned to another marked page in the magazine.

"Did you even read a single word on that page?" Kagome asked, clearly frustrated.

"Of course I did. It amuses me how the media seems to think I'd actually date a cow, much less a poorly dressed one."

"What?!"

"You sound so alarmed," Sesshomaru calmly noted as he saw that he had made 'Best Dressed' once again. He was almost always listed as one of the 'Best Dressed' of the A-list celebrities of not only Japan, but of the world. Sesshomaru hadn't always been such a favorite of the media; it was only after he succeeded his father that he received media exposure. He exploded onto the international scene as his face launched a thousand websites; some dubbed him the true Prince of Japan much to the disdain of the Royal Family of Japan. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't much they could do as they were virtually powerless, but in reality, even if they had had some power, it would have been beyond them to be able to to do anything about it. He was hired to do a few modeling stints and quickly became the face of Gucci, Prada and Chanel, which was really quite beneficial to Sesshomaru as his empire branched out and grew. He made history as his popularity exceeded the boundaries of Japan and Asia; he was an international star.

"More like angry," Kagome corrected him, "I am not a cow." she sniffed.

"Why so defensive?" he questioned as he traded in the magazine for a newspaper.

"I'm going to call every single one of these newspapers and magazines this instant and set the record straight," Kagome announced, choosing to navigate the conversation in a new direction.

"You will do no such thing."

"Why not?" she asked, slightly curious. She would've expected Sesshomaru to have tossed the stack of magazines and newspapers out the window a.s.a.p and called his lawyers so that he could sue the media for defamation and printing falsehoods. Kami forbid that he be rumored to be dating some poor nobody college girl.

Sesshomaru purposely crinkled the open newspaper loudly before spreading it over his desk, revealing a large picture of him and Kagome having dinner. "One, I forbid you and two, the contract you signed forbids you as well, under the terms that I forbid you from doing so in the first place."

"That's not fair!" Kagome retorted.

"Nothing in life is fair," Sesshomaru countered. "You really should've read the contract."

"I did!" she persisted even though she knew it was a hopeless cause.

"No, you only _wish_ you did." he amended.

"You're right..." she agreed at last with a heavy sigh. "Pig." she added under her breath.

* * *

"You are to take out anything that is over ten years old." Sesshomaru explained, his voice and expression as grave as ever.

"How do I know how old a file is?" Kagome asked as she brushed a tendril of her hair out of her face, eyeing the huge metal filing cabinet in front of her with distaste.

"By looking through it."

Kagome winced; she should've thought of that. "That's not very efficient," she piped for pride's sake.

"No, you are just lazy." he informed her.

Kagome rolled her eyes. For a man who was emotionless, Sesshomaru was sure sensitive. He was going to subject her to rifling through old and dusty folders just because she called him a pig? Pig was really just an acronymn for 'Pretty, Intelligent Guy,' but noooo, Sesshomaru had to prove how tyrannical he was. Maybe he was insecure in his manliness so he had to make himself feel better by harrassing her- yes, that was it. By the time Kagome was finished with her musings, Sesshomaru had returned to his desk. Expending all of the air from her lungs, Kagome squared her shoulders and grabbed a handful of folders; she could do this!

An hour later Kagome wasn't so sure if she _could_ do this. She was already exhausted and she felt light-headed. A lot of the folders were older than her, and extremely dusty. She had probably inhaled so much dust that her lungs were full of miniature dust bunnies by now. The folders all had an unpleasant musty smell to them as well, which had literally rubbed off and onto Kagome. On top of that, Sesshomaru had relentlessly been shooting question after question at her. "Name two works of classical literature." he told her without looking up from his work.

"Uhm...The Pillow Book and..." Kagome made a face as she struggled to remember, "The Tale of the Heike?" she proposed tentatively.

Sesshomaru stopped typing on his computer and gave Kagome a long and hard look. "No."

Kagome frowned, "But I could almost swear that you said the Tale of the Heike was a classical work of literature...are you trying to confuse me on purpose?"

"I said it was a classic. There is a difference."

"Oh, yeah, _big_ difference." Kagome sarcastically agreed as she dramatically waved her hands in the air to make her point.

Sesshomaru chose to ignore her crazy antics and continued with the questions, "Who was the first Japanese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?"

Kagome bit her lower lip as she added yet another file to the 'discard' pile; she knew the answer to that question...but at the moment it was eluding her. "Uhm...Kawa...Kawa..."

"No."

"I wasn't done," Kagome said angrily as she threw several more files to the side. Clearly frustrated at both herself and Sesshomaru, Kagome began to stomp around as if willing the answer to fall out of her mouth. She was so engulfed in trying to remember what came after 'Kawa,' that she didn't watch her step. A lot of the folders had acquired a waxy texture from age and were hence quite slippery against the soft carpeting of Sesshomaru's office. Kagome firmly stepped on one of the folders in the midst of her little tirade and with a yelp her feet flew out from underneath her. She hit the ground with a muffled thud and found herself staring up at the vaulted ceiling. The carpeting was very comfortable to the tired body of the college girl and despite herself Kagome curled up on the floor, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"That was from Kami himself." Sesshomaru told Kagome, not displaying even the subtlest signs of his gloating. Kagome's fall could not have come at a more better time. It just proved that Kagome shouldn't try and rebel; why couldn't she hang onto his every word like all the other women in the world did? Sesshomaru waited for some indignant response or for something to fly a foot or two away from his head, but nothing happened, like literally nothing. And it puzzled him to say the least...maybe even concerned him. "Higurashi?" he called as he typed furiously, his accuracy perfect. He waited a few seconds, but he still got nothing. "Wench, answer me." he demanded. He waited again, and _still_ he got nothing. "Are you sulking?" he asked, thinking that Kagome was probably all 'hurt' over his earlier comment. But knowing Kagome, she could be ignoring him too.

Sesshomaru finally stopped typing and looked across the room. Kagome laid there on the ground in a fetal position. Was she hurt? The possibility that Kagome could be hurt sent Sesshomaru almost bolting out of his chair, but he kept his composure as it was highly unlikely that she was seriously injured. "Kagome?" Not even a sound. He exhaled a little louder than normal to show that he really wasn't finding this whole affair amusing, but Kagome still didn't stir. Sesshomaru finally nudged her with his shoe, and he finally got a response...of sorts.

He got a snort.

Then he got a snore.

Kagome was sleeping on the job.

"Did it tire you that much to try and remember the answer?" he asked her sleeping figure as he crouched down. Sesshomaru paused to study her before he scooped her up into his arms. There was a light smile on her lips and she looked serene and peaceful. He wondered what she dreamt about as he walked towards the divan whereupon he deposited her. He began to walk away, but promptly turned back around and stood in front of the divan, staring down at Kagome. Sesshomaru gracefully produced his big, fat black marker from his silk shirt pocket and uncapped it, ready to draw the unsuspecting Kagome a unibrow, but that was a little cruel so he refrained.

An hour later Kagome woke up on her own, feeling very refreshed and able to take on anything. "Kawabata Yasunari!" she said loudly as she jumped off the divan an exuberant smile on her face. "Kawabata Yasunari was the first Japanese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature." she told Sesshomaru proudly who didn't seem too impressed.

"It only took you a little over an hour to answer. Congratulations." he responded.

Kagome pouted. Sesshomaru just had to ruin the moment...she hadn't even been able to bask in her triumph. She reluctantly resumed cleaning out the filing cabinet without another word while wondering how on earth she had gotten to the divan and why Sesshomaru had allowed her to sleep. Was he trying to be nice? That thought was a bit...overwhelming.

An hour and a half later Kagome was nearing completion. She grabbed another handful of files and dumped them tothe ground when the few files left in the top file cabinet fell over. With a groan Kagome grabbled about in an attempt to find them, and in her quest for the last few files her hand hit something more solid and harder than a file was supposed to be. Baffled as to what it could be, Kagome stood up on her tip-toes so that she could place both hands into the filing cabinet. She felt around the bottom and carefully lifted the mystery item out of its cold and metal prison. She slowly got down on her knees and delicately placed the ornate wooden box on the ground. Kagome glanced back over her shoulder to see if Sesshomaru was still preoccupied with his work, and as expected...he was. After an internal debate on morals that lasted a whole two seconds, Kagome decided that she should hurry up and see what it was that Sesshomaru had hidden and seemingly forgotten about in that cabinet before he decided to start quizzing her again.

She made a face at the layer of dust on the pads of her fingers and wiped them clean on the carpet. Careful to grab only the places she had already touched as to avoid anymore dustiness, Kagome gingerly eased the wooden top off. She felt the blood rushing to her ears and held her breath. There was nothing particularly fascinating or spectacular in the box though, much to Kagome's disappointment. The only thing in the wooden box was a photo frame, but it was upside down so Kagome couldn't tell if there was a picture in there or not. Feeling like she was about to do something devilishly dangerous like those leather-clad female spies in movies, Kagome turned the photo frame over, expecting some scandalous picture.

Once again, Kagome was disappointed; the picture was of a man and a woman. The man looked almost exactly like Sesshomaru, with the honey colored eyes, long silver hair and everything while the woman was fragile looking with pale skin and drawn face. There was one major difference between the man in the picture and Sesshomaru though; the man in the picture had an almost roguish smile on his face and it was almost startling to see because it was like Sesshomaru smiling...and as far as Kagome knew, no one had ever seen Sesshomaru smile before. She had always imagined that the only smiles that would suit Sesshomaru, (if he was even the smiling sort that is) would be the evil and twisted ones. But seeing a face identical to Sesshomaru's smiling back at her made Kagome's stomach flutter.

Flustered by what she suddenly felt, Kagome was ready to tuck the picture frame back into the wooden box where it belonged when something snagged in her mind. Eyebrows furrowed Kagome studied the picture again. She safely assumed that they were Sesshomaru's parents, but her eyes were focused on Inutaisho's face. He posssessed flawless skin like his son, except for a scar on his forehead, right above his left brow. The more she stared at his face, the more and more familiar the face looked, and it wasn't because it looked like Sesshomaru's. Kagome had seen this man before...and it wasn't from any magazine or television... Her eyes widened as she finally recalled where she had seen Inutaisho's picture before.

What a small world.

And there was no mistaking it. The scar...the smile...it had to be the same person. Instead of being pleased with herself for her deductions, Kagome was slightly disturbed because in the other picture she had seen of Inutaisho, he had been with another woman.

That woman's name was Izayaoi.

And she was Inuyasha's mother.

Shaken by her discovery Kagome quickly put the picture frame face down in the box, and put it back in the metal filing cabinet. Her index finger tapped against her lips as a pensive look set in on her face. Kagome had asked Izayaoi about the picture before. Izayaoi had told her that she had once worked for the famous Inutaisho and that she liked to keep the picture out for bragging purposes, but Kagome wasn't so sure if she believed Izayaoi's explanation anymore. Yet Kagome was sure that she knew Izayaoi well enough...she couldn't have been involved in an affair...there was just no way...but there was more than enough evidence proving otherwise..._unless_ Inutaisho had a twin brother who had the same exact scar in the same exact place...or something. "Sesshomaru?" Kagome called.

Sesshomaru didn't respond in the slightest and acted as if he didn't hear her.

"Did your father...Inutaisho have a twin brother?" she asked as she went back to looking through files to see if they were older than ten years or not.

"No." he responded.

"Did he have a cousin who looked a lot like him?" she continued.

"No." he answered again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Di-"

Obviously fed up with Kagome's little interrogation, Sesshomaru chose to gently interrupt her. "Why do you continue to annoy me with questions irrelevant to you and your task?"

"I'm just curious." Kagome grumbled.

"Curiosity is not a virtue." he advised her.

"I never said it was!" she protested.

"I never said you did." he countered.

"Then why'd you say that?"

"I was merely sharing some words of wisdom with you," Sesshomaru paused for a split second, "Because that is how generous of a man I am."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh, and just to irk Sesshomaru she began to laugh louder and louder, exaggerating the absurdity of that last comment. Then she snorted; embarrassed, Kagome stopped laughing (and snorting) and started to play with her hair.

"I thought you were a cow, not a pig." Sesshomaru observed.

"You're mean and you're really not that generous." Kagome retorted.

"That is all a matter of opinion, and currently yours does not matter."

Her mouth opened to fire back at him, but tragedy struck and she had no comeback...so she announced that she had to go to the bathroom.

Five minutes later Sesshomaru heard someone shrieking.

Ten minutes after that Kagome came marching in, pointing at the 'Property of S.A' stamped on her head in green ink. "What is this?!" she demanded as she pointed to her red and green forehead.

"My, my. That is one peculiar rash. You should see a doctor." Sesshomaru advised, the corners of his lips curled in disgust.

"I hate you!" Kagome shouted, both livid and close to tears at the same time, "You're selfish and arrogant and you never think about anyone else's feelings. Did you ever stop to think that _I _might have feelings too? Just to let you know, unlike you I do have feelings- as well as a heart and a soul. You're impossible Sesshomaru Arishima."

"So I have heard."

* * *

"How much longer do you plan on being a mute?" Sesshomaru asked, boredom and indifference in his voice.

Kagome didn't reply; she kept on staring out the window with a blank look on her face and a forlorn look in her eyes.

"You will not be of much use to me if you do not speak," he added after a while. Kagome hadn't spoken since she exploded at him; he had even personally removed all traces of the green stamp from her forehead, but Kagome apparently didn't understand the magnitude of that gesture. Her ungratefulness angered Sesshomaru and he hadn't talked since then either...until now. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like it when Kagome was unhappy. "I am going to buy a restaurant. I will need a second opinion on the food." Sesshomaru was going to tell her that the restaurant was famed for their sweets and pastries, but he didn't. Two could play the silent game, and Kagome would lose.

* * *

"Lincoln Navigator, check." a man with a silver mohawk said.

"Man with silver hair, check." a man with black and silver striped hair noted.

"Young college girl, check." a man with striking blue eyes quipped. "Let's do this." The three men then got out of their car and ran across the street, just as Sesshomaru gave the valet the keys to his Lincoln Navigator. It was only after the valet drove away in the luxury SUV that the three men began snapping photos like mad crazy. The flashing bright lights caught Kagome by surprise and she raised a hand to try and cover her face.

"Miss Higurashi, how did you and Mr. Arishima meet?" the man with the silver mohawk called.

"Miss Higurashi, how do you feel about being dubbed Japan's Cinderella?" the man with the black and silver striped hair yelled.

"Miss Higurashi, would you like to go on a date with me?" the man with striking blue eyes inquired, a cocky smile on his handsome face as he stopped taking pictures.

Kagome squinted in order to get a better look at him, but before she could say anything Sesshomaru had grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away. The three paparazzi followed, taking pictures of Sesshomaru with Kagome in tow. They would've gone inside the restaurant as well, except that several waiters barred them from coming inside.

"Drats. Should we wait around until they're done Kouga?" the man with the silver mohawk asked.

"Yeah, let's get them when they come out." the man with the black and silver striped hair agreed.

The man with the striking blue eyes flashed his friends a toothy grin and shook his head, "Nah. Let's follow them instead." With that the three men went back inside their dark blue Toyota truck to wait.

"What was with that question anyways?" the man with the silver mohawk asked.

"Yeah, why would you want to go on a date with her?" the man with the black and silver striped hair agreed.

Kouga shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I felt something the moment I looked at her." The other two men looked at Kouga in awe and surprise. Kouga was a notorious playboy who believed in lust and not love. Relationships were a foreign concept to him and he was sworn to the bachelor life, no woman could tie Kouga down. That and women didn't catch Kouga's eyes, Kouga caught women's eyes. "I'm going to make her _my_ woman."

* * *

Kagome struggled against Sesshomaru's grip while they were ushered to the private table at the back of the restaurant, but Sesshomaru didn't relent. It was only when he slipped into his seat that he let go of her wrist.

The smiling waiter who introduced himself as Hojo presented them with their menu's and politely asked them if they wanted anything to drink. He was surprised when Kagome pointed at the fancy scripted word 'Soda.' "Uhm, what kind of soda would you like ma'am?" he asked. When Kagome looked at him expectantly, Hojo nodded in understanding and began listing various sodas. "And a Shirley Temple it is," he declared the moment Kagome vigorously nodded as its mention. He flashed Kagome a bright smile who returned the favor with a shy smile of her own. "And for you sir?" Hojo inquired of Sesshomaru who had been looking at the lists of wines, waiting for Kagome to slip up and speak.

Sesshomaru looked up at Kagome who had a smug smirk on her face and then looked at Hojo. Silently he pointed to his wine of choice and nodding Hojo scrawled down the name of the wine and went off. He didn't spare Kagome another look as he already knew that she was now glowering at him for copying her. Sesshomaru leafed through the menu although he really didn't need to; he and Kagome would be served a small sample of every single thing on the menu.

A few minutes later Hojo returned with bottle of wine and a Shirley Temple in hand. "For you miss," he stated kindly as he gave Kagome her Shirley Temple.

Kagome smiled her thanks while Sesshomaru scrutinizingly watched Hojo pour him a glass of wine, making sure the boy didn't drop any of the wine. Fortunately, Hojo had his wits about him and did the job neatly and like a pro. After setting the bottle of wine back on the table, Hojo turned to Kagome. "Are you Kagome Higurashi by any chance?" he asked slowly.

Kagome nodded as tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

"Did you once live in Kyoto by any chance?" he asked again, a look of excitement growing on his face.

Kagome nodded again, her eyebrows furrowed as she studied Hojo; she had this nagging feeling that she was supposed to know him, but he didn't look familiar in the slightest.

"You might not remember, but we used to go to middle school together," Hojo explained, waiting for realization to cross Kagome's face, noticing that Kagome still didn't recognize him. "Does the name Hojo Ezura ring any bells?" Kagome shook her head regretfully. Hojo laughed, "It's fine. I was...different looking back then. I was a bit chubby you could say."

Kagome's eyes widened as she remembered a nameless chubby boy offering her a bandaid after she had scraped her knee. She looked Hojo up and down...was it really possible that a not so handsome fat kid could turn into...this?? Kagome motioned that she now remembered, blushing from embarrassment at the same time.

"Well I'm glad you reme-" Hojo began, but before he could finish another one of the waiters came by and pulled him away.

Her mood now greatly elated by running into this childhood friend of sorts, Kagome happily sipped on her Shirley Temple, completely ignoring Sesshomaru. Instead she thought about the run-in with the paparazzi outside the restaurant. They had been snapping pictures of her nonstop...the flashes from their cameras had been so bright that she became disoriented and dumb. If it wasn't for Sesshomaru she'd probably still be out there trying to remember her own name. They thought that she was dating Sesshomaru...the whole world thought that...

Sesshomaru on the other hand was not having as easy of a time ignoring her, and that Hojo waiter was not helping at all. 'First thing I'll do when I buy this restaurant is fire him...' Sesshomaru thought to himself as he tasted his glass of Spanish red wine. 'No...' he told himself as he rethought his initial decision. 'He's a reasonably good waiter...' Hojo had done nothing wrong except for talk more than Sesshomaru preferred, but people seemed to prefer those talkative waiters anyways. So why was it that Sesshomaru had this strong wish to fire him? Sesshomaru had no idea...

Dinner was a silent affair as both of them still refused to speak.

Not that Kagome could've spoken anyways.

She ate as if there were no tomorrow.

There were over fifty dishes that the restaurant served, and even though they were being served only small samples of each dish...when you added all those samples together they were the equivalent of at least half a dozen full-sized dishes.

Sesshomaru knew that Kagome had a voracious appetite, but this was ridiculous... While he took a mere bite of each sample, Kagome ate the whole thing. It was then he remembered Kagome telling him that she liked to eat when she was depressed and angry. At the rate Kagome was eating she was going to blow up to the size of a blimp and then explode unwanted matter all over the place. Sesshomaru considered telling Kagome to slow down as it was better for the digestive system, but he didn't want to lose this game.

That was until Kagome began choking.

She had stuffed the whole square of almond encrusted halibut into her mouth despite the fact that she was already chewing on a chunk of roast duck slathered with huckleberry jam. Amazingly enough Kagome was downing it just fine...when all of the sudden she started coughing and heaving. A chewed up lump of food fell to her plate as she opened her mouth wide in an attempt to clear her windpipe, but to no avail. Sesshomaru chose not to look at what had just fallen out of her mouth and put his fork down. He was about to say something, but stopped himself just in time. How devious of her- disgusting him to get him to talk.

Kagome continued to struggle to breathe and collapsed to her knees. Several people made a move to help Kagome, but Sesshomaru stood up and gave them all a frosty glare, warning them to stay away. The foolish girl was causing a scene and worse than that, some people were buying her 'choking act.' But even more foolish was the addle brained waiter Hojo. Despite Sesshomaru's warning, Hojo rushed forth to help Kagome. A deep growl resonated from within Sesshomaru at the sight of Hojo touching Kagome…_his_ Kagome. Technically speaking, he did own her after all— kind of.

The dolt wasn't even performing the Heimlich right.

Angrily Sesshomaru left his seat and walked over to pull Hojo away from a slightly blue Kagome and after wrapping his arms around her flailing figure, he delivered one sharp upward jab into her abdomen. An almond flew out of Kagome's mouth and landed neatly on the not so neat mess of food that had been in her mouth. She immediately sucked in all the air her lungs could hold and freed herself from Sesshomaru's arms; she hobbled over to her seat and collapsed in it. Hojo (who was obviously a slow learner), was standing by with a glass of water for her. After she regained most of her composure Kagome glowered at Sesshomaru who continued to stand there, waiting for Kagome to express her thanks.

Much to Sesshomaru's non-existent frustration, Kagome didn't say a word.

Of course he hadn't said anything either, but he had just saved her life. What a stubborn wench.

Sesshomaru and Kagome left the restaurant not too long after, both still upholding their individual vows of silence. Hojo and Kagome embraced much to Sesshomaru's displeasure and Sesshomaru made note to fire him the moment the papers of restaurant ownership were finalized. The ride back to Kagome's was eerily silent and Sesshomaru half considered turning on the radio, but he didn't because Kagome might then get the notion that he was faltering.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark blue Toyota truck followed.

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, I am talking again. Sorry! Review- please and thank you! I hope this chapter met everyone's expectations and did not disappoint. I don't know when the next installment will come, but I hope that you will all continue to bear with me and the fic! If you are interested in becoming a "Guinea Pig Reader," just be sure to leave your email address in a review if you aren't already signed in, and I will randomly pick three or so of you? I LOVE YOU ALL! I wish you could ALL bear my children! Joking. XD 


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